Tamer of Beasts
by OmegaFoxy
Summary: Thrown back in time by a mysterious book, Anzu Tea Mazaki is faced with the task of being the Beast Tamer- said to know a thousand tongues and calm any beast, but ancieant Egypt has three particular Beasts in mind... BXA,AXM,AXA AU On hold till further notice
1. Chapter 1

Aaaannnd I'm back! Welcome if you've read some of my other stories and if this is your first time reading me, WELCOME! Just a reminder:

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Yugioh series or merchandise or anything else that goes with it.

This fic is rated M for a reason so please play it safe or just don't report me if something slips up.

If u see a misspelling of any of the names or if I got them wrong plz tell me, its been a while since I've actually got into Yugioh series and I'm just getting back into it so help me if you can. I'm using the Japanese names.

Thanks and Enjoy!

-Dessy

Tamer of Beasts

Chapter One History's Calling

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty… come'ere little guy" Anzu cooed to the cream-colored kitten that huddled on a low branch in a tree. Its fuzzy body was bristled and shivering in alarm as it realized it had forgotten how to get down from its exploration of the tree for the first time.

"He really is a nice kitty," the little girl spoke up from behind Anzu, "He should come right down here- Goredy, come down here kitty! Come'on Goredy!" the little girl practically squawked, making the frightened kitten pin back his ears and dig his tiny claws into the bark, now more determined than ever not to let go.

"I'm sure he really is a nice kitty," the high school senior smiled over her shoulder to the girl, "He's just a little frightened right now." Turning back to the kitten and sighing as her eye caught the time on her digital watch she realized she was already fifteen minutes late for her first class period, "Come'on kitty, come over here, boy," she urged as her hand stretched to reach the kitten just out of reach.

The kittens wide green eyes narrowed as he drew back his lips and arched his back. His fur bristled as he hissed a warning to her before he swiped at her with his tiny, quick claws that snagged on her fingers in a painful way. Anzu gritted her teeth and yelped in pain, drawing her hand back sharply and clutching it in her other one. Assessing the damaged appendage, she turned her glaring blue eyes upon the spitting and hissy-fitting kitten, "Now you've done it you little twerp," she grumbled under her breath.

The kitten mewled in protest as she darted out her good hand and snagged the scruff of the impudent kittens neck and dragged him willing or not from the tree, holding his squirming body well away from her body incase he decided on a rematch. He twisted and wriggled about trying to get away from his captor to no avail as Anzu held him out for the girl to take.

"Oh, GOREDY!" the little girl squealed in delight as she snatched him from Anzu's grasp to cradle him in her pudgy little arms, "Mommy was soooo worried about you! You naughty, naughty little kitty, you! Don't you ever run away from Mommy again, you hear me? Bad kitty!" she jabbed a scolding finger in the miserable kittens nose, "Now, come on, Goredy, we're going to finish our little tea party with Mr. Teddy and Ms. Barbie." The little girl skipped off with out so much as a utterance of gratitude toward Anzu while the kitten was laying over her shoulder, moaning out his agony.

'_Well, if you didn't scratch me, I'd feel sorry for you,'_ Anzu snorted amused. She glanced down when her watch beeped on the hour-

"AAAAH! OH MY GAWD!" she took off jogging, only to stop short, "ACK! MY BAG!" she doubled back to snatch her side bag and then took off jogging again, ".!!" she yelped as she ran through the park in Domino City for a brief short cut.

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"You're late because you just _had _to save some kids cat?" Hana quirked a cool dark brow, "you realize how lame that is right? Considering animals hate you."

Anzu slumped pathetically in her second period class seat behind her friend Hana who leaned an elbow on her desk top as she sat sideways to talk to her, "Not all animals hate me, Hana," she retorted pitifully.

"Your goldfish don't count. They can't even remember what they had for breakfast, let alone if they don't like you or not." Hana smiled coyly.

"You're so cold, Hana!" Anzu complained, but a smile tugged on her lips. It was True Hana had a dreary sense of humor, but Anzu found it funny even when it was pointed to her failures.

"I wasn't born to be happy all the time you know," Hana shrugged, "Not all of us have that trait, Ms. Sunshine-and-Roses." She drawled out her nickname for Anzu with a cheeky grin.

"I am not always happy!" Anzu protested, but the smile was still there and she tried to hold down a giggle.

"Uh-huh, I can defiantly tell that right off the bat." Hana teased.

"Class," the teacher called to order, "Come to order, class, order please. We don't have all day you know, now let's get started with our English Language pronunciation." The foreign English Teacher ordered his class. He was the youngest teacher on the staff and was often the object of the young high school girl's affection with his British accent and golden blonde hair coupled with his green hazel eyes- he was defiantly movie star material!

"Looky, Look, Anzu," Hana sighed dreamily, "It's our future lover- Mr. Goodings!" she whispered with a wink.

Anzu's tightly held-in giggle burst out to hysterical laughter when she could no longer hold it in, startling Mr. Goodings from mid-sentence as he introduced to the class what was expected of the day.

"Ms. Mazaki," he spoke in his native tongue, knowing his senior students should be able to understand him by now as he quirked an inquisitive brow, "Am I interrupting something."

"No, nothing Mr. Goodings!" Anzu clapped a hand over her mouth to hold in her giggles as her face turned red in embarrassment, but her blue eyes started to water from trying to hold in her lustrous giggles.

Hana looked back to their teacher over her shoulder as she still turned in her seat toward Anzu behind her. She flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder flirtatiously, catching the eye of all the senior boys in the class. It was no secrete that Hana was a wild thing and tended to be a loose vixen around the boys. It was often a questionable topic why such a harlot hung around sweet, innocent, never-had-a-boy-friend Anzu Mazaki.

"Why, Mr. Goodings," Hana drawled in a throaty voice she used to flirt with as she batted her black eyes at him, "We were discussing our plans to dual-marry you soon as we're both legal. You're not opposed to the Mormon-way of marriage are you? Taking more than one wife?"

Mr. Goodings ignored Hana's flirt, "Ms. Ureno, please kindly turn to the proper sitting position of your desk and absorb something I teach you about the most-used language in the world so you can grow up to have the knowledge to communicate properly with half the world."

The class snickered and giggled at Hana's expense, but she paid no mind, turning in her chair to the proper position, crossing her legs at the ankles and her arms over her chest as she tilted her head slightly in boredom, "Oh, I'll absorb something alright…," Hana mumbled under breath as Anzu noticed her head wasn't tilted towards the board, but Mr. Goodings backside.

"Hana!" Anzu hissed scoldingly.

"A girl can window shop, can't she?" Hana smirked back.

Anzu sighed in mock-forlorn as she jotted down some notes Mr. Goodings was scribbling on the board for the up and coming exams next week, "You're a hopeless flirt."

"And you're a hopeless virgin." Hana shot back.

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"Anzu, you realize that school is over, right?" Hana groaned as she followed her friend to the library on their way home from school.

"I know, but I need to check-in a few books I finished reading, then check a few out I saw last time I didn't have time to read this time. And then I need to go online and check up on some-,"

"I don't speak book-worm, Anzu." Hana groaned, cutting off her friends ranting, "Why do you read so much anyways. We just have tests coming up, no projects or research papers. And the tests are all open note- no extra book-researching needed."

Anzu rolled her eyes, "You know I always keep a book on me to read." She defended.

"_A_ book? More like _three_ books so you can practice your feminine-given multitasking skills." Hana scrunched her nose as she prodded at Anzu's passion, "Never really heard of an animal-loving, yet animals-repealing, book adoring, history obsessed, Dancer, musician. You don't even do ballet like most goodie goodies do- you're an erotic hip-hop, belly dancer."

"Hey, I don't belly dance! It's an ancient form of Egyptian ceremonial dance that I happen to like." Anzu blushed.

"Still involves jiggling what little belly fat you have." Hana pointed out as they approached the library door, "Alright, girl, this is as far as I go. Books and me mix about as well as you and your oh-so adored animals you naturally repeal somehow."

"Hana!" Anzu nudged her friend with her elbow since her hands were occupied with a stack of books to check in.

Hana laughed at Anzu's attempt to pay her retribution, "Do you want me to wait around and walk you home? I know you live by yourself now…," Hana looked down momentarily, silently apologizing for brining up the death of Anzu's parents.

"No I'll be fine, besides, you were so excited about that rave you heard about tonight. You should go and get ready for it." Anzu plastered a smile to her face.

"Anzu..," Hana said uncertainly.

"Go on, Hana. I've been on my own for a year now, and it wasn't like they were home much before they died. Nothing's gonna happen, just go." Anzu urged.

"If you say so." Hana shrugged, still unconvinced, "Meet me bright and early tomorrow so I can copy your Algebra II homework?"

"Sure." Anzu smiled with a roll of her eyes as her flamboyant friend sauntered off, drawing the eye of a few college guys as she sashayed her hips. Anzu watched with mild interest as the guys rubber-necked so their eyes could follow the swaying ass that was Hana and sighed hopelessly as said Hana winked flirtatiously back at the guys, "Does she ever stop her incessant 'Window-shopping'?" she shook her head at the thought and walked into the library.

A young man just out of his college years looked up from the book he was reading behind the check-out counter. His bright silver-green eyes shined vibrantly when he recognized Anzu behind her mountain of books she set on his counter to check-in.

"Done already?" the black haired boy half-grinned in his charming way.

"D-Don??" Anzu started behind her books and leaned around them to see the freshly-graduated young man she'd known since grade-school practically, "I didn't know you'd be back in the library,"

Don scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, his spiked black hair bobbing as his hand ran through it, "Yeah, Uncle needed some help around here, and I'm a history major anyways, so I decided to take some time off from career-pressuring and work around here for awhile till he can find a good few hired hands." He dropped his hand and looked over the mountain of books on his counter, "Spring-reading or something?" he looked the stack of eight books up and down curiously and mildly amused.

Anzu blushed and looked away, "I-I guess y-you could say th-that." She stuttered as her heart beat quickly in her chest. Don Deiangelo was twenty-five years old, much older than her measly eighteen-years old, but she had always had a little-girls stardom-crush on him since Mr. Deiangelo first introduced them when she was only nine and in grade school and he was sixteen and a sophomore in high school. He was her 'Edward Cullen' to put it in new-age terms…

Well, she couldn't call him her 'Edward' since she really went for the wolf-boy, 'Jacob Black' in the famous vampire series…

Wait, but 'Edward' was still hot too…

She couldn't decide… she loved them both!

'_I suddenly know how Bella Swan must fell in the Twilight series.. Shoot!_' she thought.

"Anzu..? Hello? You in there?" Don waved a hand in front of her eyes.

"Whaa…?" CRAP! She spaced out!

"Bookworms," Don sighed, "Always have their head in a book or up in the clouds." He joked, "I asked if you wanted help finding some other Egyptian legends and mythology books. I've noticed that's the only subjects you checked-out last time." Don offered again, grinning at the young girls' blush.

"Oh yes! Egypt!" she nodded to herself, "I don't know if the library has any more books I haven't gone through about Egypt. I've been reading about it from the books here for a while."

"Indeed she has." An old wise voice commented as Mr. Deiangelo, Don's Uncle hobbled out of the book cases with his old-world Greek-decorated cane. The white ivory of the cane was etched with ancient Greek murals tinier than a persons thumb, but the whole cane was covered with mythological gods and heroes of the Greek culture, displaying half of the Deiangelo culture, the other half was a mix between Japanese and Egyptian. Anzu had always found Mr. Deiangelo and his abroad-studying nephew, Donatello (Don) fascinating. They always had stories to share with her and worldly knowledge for her to learn from them.

"She's been here just about every other three or four days. Comes back soon as her batch of books is finished and gets more." Mr., Deiangelo grinned toothily at the pair around the counter.

"Sorry, Mr. Deiangelo, but its just that I can't stop thinking about the ancient Egyptians with the legends and myths and pharaohs and-,"

Mr. Deiangelo laughed heartily as he hobbled up to them and placed his free, old withered hand on Anzu's shoulder, "It's good to see that there's still some youth out there who turn to the books of the library and not the computers and instant internet and such." He sighed, "Think nothing of it, Anzu." He reassured, sharing a smile with the blue-eyed young woman while his nephew started to check-in her mountain of books, "Come, this way to the back, I have a book I saved just for you!" the old, willowy man who hadn't lost his impressive height with his age brightened. His silvery eyes twinkled behind his spectacles as his long white and silver beard twitched as his face tugged into an excited smile.

Anzu let the old man eagerly tug her through the enchantingly old cheery-oak bookcases to the back where a small stair case hid in a narrow hallway with the bathrooms, water fountain and two extra rooms for the library's use. He took her up the stairs to his apartment that was above the library, he literally lived at his work! Anzu sat down at the small kitchen bar that served as the penthouses' kitchen table while Mr. Deiangelo rummaged through his own personal bookcase and made a sound of victory, chuckling much like the whinny the pooh character, Tigger. She couldn't suppress a giggle of her own; the man simply was amusing in everything he did! Grinning like a proud old cat with a mouse-prize, Mr. Deiangelo set a good-sized book down in front of Anzu on the counter. The cover appeared to have once been white and made from some kind of plant, but it was now yellowish with old-age and the plant-like material acting as its covering was stitched together in haphazard patches. The spine seemed to have been redone with a tough leather that seemed paradoxical, with how it seemed so out of place with the ancient-covering of the book yet also seemed to fit it just fine. There was no title on the cover, just an Egyptian eye.

Anzu looked down at the book then up to Mr. Deiangelo, "What's this?" she tilted her head curiously, never in her life had she seen such a peculiar book like this. She was almost afraid to open it for fear of damaging something so ancient.

"It's an old Egyptian spell book filled with old records and legends of the great pharaoh's magicians and prophecies." Mr. Deiangelo replied with pride as he recognized Anzu's insatiable curiosity latch onto the book he set in front of her, "I don't plan on displaying it for public use, but you may borrow it if it will help appease your sudden hunger for ancient Egypt?"

"Really? Can I?" he could practically imagine the brunette spouting puppy ears and a wagging tail, she looked so excited.

"Really, really. You don't even have to check it out." He nodded as he leaned on the kitchen breakfast bar across from her on his elbows.

"Wow, thank you! I've always wanted to read something like this! And its written in English too!" thank god she could read English fairly well… well, good enough to get the basic meaning, "Where'd you get it? It looks like it's supposed to be in a museum or something." She ran her hands over the book with new fascination.

Mr. Deiangelo smiled, "It was written by an English mercenary long ago when he traveled to Egypt in search for the Promise Land in the ancient writings of the Old Testament in the Bible, but he ended up finding ancient Egypt instead. He studied with the priests there for fifteen years, or so it was said, and rewrote their ancient teachings in English so he could show his own country the wonders of the land sand." The old man recited as if he were teaching her a history lesson, "You do know your English enough to read it, don't you?"

"You're looking at Best In Class," Anzu puffed her chest out proudly.

'_No matter that the teacher happens to be one of my favorites I've ever had and is a total sweet-heart when it comes to explaining things..'_ she thought.

"Well, then its all yours for now, Anzu," Mr. Deiangelo smiled as he glanced at his old coo-coo clock when the little bird annoyingly popped out and squawked the time, "Shouldn't you be at work about now, Anzu? It's nearly five."

"FIVE!" Anzu shot up, "Ah, crap, I'm gonna be late for work too!" she quickly dashed off down the stairs, completely forgetting about the book until she made it half way, "NOT AGAIN!" she dashed back up the stairs, snatched the book and bolted down stairs once more and towards the door.

"Don't you need to check it out first?" Don called to her as she ran past the check-out counter.

"Your Uncle said it wasn't a library book," Anzu said in a rush as she ran by. The bells of the doors dinged as she shot out of the library at top speed and headed for Juicy Hungry Burger for her job.

Don shook his head, "Some times I worry about that girl." He sighed.

"I do not," Mr. Deiangelo replied as he emerged from the back of the Library again.

His nephew turned to him, a black brow raised in question, "Did you tell her just what that book was?"

"It is not always the way to tell ones destiny before one finds out on their own." His Uncle replied stubbornly in his old cryptic tone.

Don gave him a blank stare, "You realize she's only eighteen don't you. Are you sure the ancient spirits claim her?"

His Uncle glared at the boy, "You dare impugn the spirits of Egypt on their choice in Anzu?!" he gruffed.

"You are more than forty-five-thousand years old, Uncle, that's more than enough time to develop memory loss." The younger immortal joked.

"We are merely messengers of the gods and spirits of this world. Who they chose we cannot argue over. We can merely show the way to the chosen one."

Don sighed, "You realize that animals hate her right? Have you ever seen her when she crosses a stray dog? The dog runs away with its tail between its legs and the GODS chose HER as their Beast Tamer that will tame the ancient Beast gods those fools released?"

"Stop questioning the gods, boy!" Mr. Deiangelo grumbled, "We'll see soon enough what the gods have in plan for little Anzu. She now is of age and has the book, it's only a matter of time before our past selves meet her in ancient Egypt, we'll guide her in the right direction."

"You were a drunk in ancient Egypt, Uncle…"

"Then I shall dream that I am sobering up,"

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"Soon as I get home, I'm taking a nice looong shower." Anzu growled as she breathed through her mouth on her march home. As always her burger-joint job had left her frustrated with picky customers, flirtatious jerks that tried to cop a feel, her ears ringing from her managers barking unnecessary orders and her nose burning with burning grease and hamburger scum. She could still smell it if she breathed through her nose and even with her mouth open to block the smell as she breathed, her tongue started to get tastes of the repulsive greasy fumes.

She had put her little treasure of an ancient book in her book bag to protect it from the hazards of the greasy burger joint, and she was impatient to get started reading it. Once her house was in sight, Anzu jogged the rest of the way toward it, opening and closing the small front gate of the tiny front yard and striding up the walkway toward her porch. She jiggled her key into the lock a few times before the key hit home and clicked open the door. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her back, relocking it and sighing in relief to be home.

"Finally!" she hummed as she tugged off her jacket and tossed it over into the coat closet in the entry way. She passed by the old piano with her goldfish bowl on it. Two Goldfish and one Beta-fish swirled around excitedly inside the medium-sized bowl.

"Hey, guys. miss me?" she grinned as she bent over to peer inside the bowl while she took the fish food from beside the bowl and twisted open the top, "Eat up," she gently shook the small container until a few fish flakes toppled out and into the water. The three fish gobbled at them greedily, dashing and dodging around one another in a dance to catch the flakes that slowly sunk to the bottom, few actually made it before being engorged by the little aquatic animals- the only animals that actually liked Anzu.

Sighing once again, Anzu realized fish really didn't count as an animal that liked her. She doubted her fish even cared, but it was nice to personify them as much. She turned down the hall and preceded down to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes carelessly as she went- she would pick them up later, right now she wanted out of them and into that promising hot shower. She set her book bag in her bedroom just inside her door on her way to the bathroom, grabbing a fresh towel from the towel and blanket closet that was between her bedroom and bathroom down the hall, the only other room down this hallway was her mother and father's old room they used rarely even before they died, and she never went pass the bathroom, so it was blocked off by a small shrine she made for her parents out of respect. She paused by the shrine and bowed in her underwear, murmuring a silent prayer for them before closing the bathroom door behind her and starting the shower…

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-Ancient Egypt-

"My Lord, Malik, are you sure you know what you are doing?" the dark tanned servant hidden beneath dark robes questioned his young master.

"Enough of you, my brother!" Malik quipped sharply, glancing around with violet eyes from under his own thick hood, "Do you want us to get caught out here?"

"No, Master Malik." The deep voice whispered obediently quieting down, "But do you think it wise to release forbidden beast for the sake of defeating another one?" pale, sky eyes peeked back at his younger adopted brother as the large man crowded the younger ones back protectively.

"That bastard Marik was born from my own spirit and intends to over though all of Egypt, and while I have no loyalties personally to that dumbass of a pharaoh, Atem, I'd rather him on a thrown of Egypt than Marik on the thrown of the world, Rishid." The young man snorted, "He intends to release Obelisk the Tormentor only, just so he can over throw the Pharaohs power, but if we release all three Ancient forbidden beasts, it will at least buy us some time."

"But we don't have a Beast tamer to appease the three forbidden ones, milord, what if the dragon and Ra turn against Egypt's favor for Marik as well?" Rishid was hesitant; sometimes his younger brother didn't always think-through things like their elder sister, priestess Ishizu.

"Then we'll _find_ the Beast Tamer of this time." Malik quipped sharply, not liking how many questions his usually silent and faithful brother was hailing on him, "now silence about you!" he shushed him and they silently slipped through the shadows of the Nile out of Egypt to the Temple of the Beasts. All the while, unawares of the tagalong thief behind them that followed with mild amusement of a board thief. Red eyes gleamed in the moonlight as silver, wild hair tossed in the wind while the thief urged his camel onward to follow at a distance.

'_There's loot to be had when a Tomb-Keeper wanders away from his den to visit a temple at night.'_ The thief thought with a wicked grin.

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-Present Day-

"Ah, that's better," Anzu preened happily as she stepped out of the bathroom, fluffing her shoulder-length brunette hair with her fluffy towel while a healthy fog of steam rolled out to the bathroom behind her. A white plush bathrobe covered her being to stave-off the cool air of the house as she padded her way bare-foot back up the hallway and into her room, "No more grease in my hair, no more burger and sweat-smell and absolutely no more tensed muscles," Anzu stretched her arms above her head and arched her back backwards, wincing and then letting out a content sigh as a few good pops spiked up her spine as she completely released the tension hiding there, "Life is good…" she purred, plopping down on the bed in her room.

The book cover peaked out at her beside the door in the side bag she'd tossed in earlier, "Oh yeah, the Spell and Mythology book!" she hopped right up from her bed and crossed the room eagerly, scooping up the book, "Finally! A moment to ourselves!" she joked as if the book were her long lost lover or something. She then stopped herself and rolled her eyes heavenward as Hana's words mocked her in her thoughts, "Hana was right, I really am a bookworm…"

She retreated back to her bed and fluffed up the pillows to support her back before plopping back on them and cuddling up in her covers. She bent her knees to support the back of the book and set the treasured item in her propped-up lap. The Egyptian eye gazing up at her ominously as she once again took time to admire the ancient coverings.

"Let's see what we have here Mr. Old English Scholar," she grinned as she gently opened the book. The first page she found was created out of rice paper- that confused her. Wasn't rice paper native to the Asian range? China, Japan and all the other eastern countries? Why was an ancient English Scholar-written book made out of rice paper if it were about Egyptians?

'_Well Mr. Deiangelo did say the man was a mercenary. Maybe he also traveled to the Eastern Countries and learned how to make Rice Paper?_" she thought.

The inked in English writings were elegantly written as if the writer's hand were graceful and passionate about what he put onto the paper. She found it slightly difficult since she wasn't completely fluent in English, let alone OLD English, but the first line seemed easy enough.

"_I bring you knowledge from a land beyond the Sands of Time. Where Heaven meets with both Earth and Hell in one City of Egypt. With the Will of Rah and the Grace of our God, I beseech your destiny…,"_ As Anzu read out loud the first few lines, she noticed something strange, the book felt lighter than before and the words were clearer to her. It didn't just look like some pretty old writings of an Englishman, but she understood the words and characters on the page.

"I must be getting better at this than I thought! Mr. Goodings is a miracle worker!" she thought aloud.

"_This book will take he who is of the spirit of the tongues. Man and beast understand and understood by he…"_ Anzu recognized the startings of a legend when she heard read one! Shifting more comfortably, she eagerly read on, "_I bid you with the Grace of the Gods and that of your own, good luck, for the world your lead to demands great presence in you. __**mesneh-**_ _**rek…**_" Anzu tilted her head at the new language. Something told her what it meant deep with in her, "Reverse time..?" she repeated in her own language, "But how did I know that..?"

The lights suddenly shut off all around her, "Black out??" she squeaked.

Her stomach started to churn in knots that tightened around and into her muscles. Her heart began to race and her breathing labored as a draft of light wind played with the strands of her hair, "I never opened my … window…" she gulped.

She could see nothing- not the light of the moon she knew was out side her window, not her window, room or even her own hand as she frantically checked if she could by waving it in front of her own face and promptly bopping herself on the nose.

"Wha-What's going on here??" the wind picked up and swirled around her in an alarming rate. Her hair lifted off her neck and waved above her head as the tornado of wind encircled her. She couldn't feel the covers of her bed covering her legs anymore as she clutched onto her plush bathrobe frantically- it was the only thing she knew she could sense around her as she clenched her eyes shut tightly.

That's when things got really FREAKY!

She felt water lapping at her ankles and slowly engulfing her body as if she were slowly being placed in water by the wind itself, "SOMEBODY, HELP MEEEEEEEE!" she cried out, but got a mouthful of cool water instead, and then suddenly, the wind was gone and she felt like she had been plunged into a swimming pool as her weightless body slowly fell down deeper in the water. Her consciousness was leaving her as she fought instinctively to regain the right to breathe air and not liquid. She scrambled with her legs for some sort of leverage until her feet brushed against some sort of bottom to this pool, it was only slightly solid, as if a layer of sand were on the bottom of this pool! She didn't care at the moment as she used the new-found base as a push-off and scrambled upward, hoping there was air there. Her torso sprang from the water with the force of her struggles as she breached the air and took a mighty gulp of precious oxygen. Her eyesight failing her as she felt her consciousness start to slip away faster and her muscles go lax at having succeeded in surviving suffocation. She only distantly heard startled screams nearby before she tilted backwards, face up in the water and fell unconscious…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two Warning This is NOT Japan

-Cairo, Ancient Egypt-

"Atem… my boy, Atem..," Pharaoh Akhenamnkhanen rasped weakly, "Where's my son, Atem?"

"I am here, father. I am always here at your side." The young prince of Egypt replied softly in his deep voice as he grasped the out reached searching hand of his fever-blinded father, "I'm here."

"Tell me… my son," Akhenamnkhanen was breathing deeply as his silvery glazed violet eyes stared near Atem's general direction sightlessly, "Are you afraid?"

Atem was silent. He opened his mouth to say that he was strong and had no concept of fear, but hesitated. Akhenamnkhanen seemed to sense this in his son and smiled, "Fear is not your enemy, my son. Ignorance is… for if you live in fear… at least you know what is wrong… but to live ignorant of even fear… you never know what will hit you until it has you bearing your throat to… to death itself." The wise and aged withered pharaoh said.

Atem gently knelt by his fathers bed side, silently looking to the stand-by servants to leave. Once gone and the guards were posted at all entry ways, but well out of earshot, Atem looked back to his father with his own deep mahogany-violet eyes full of sorrow and pain, "I am terrified, not afraid, father."

"What ails my son so?" Akhenamnkhanen asked as if Atem were the one deathly ill and he was the comforter.

"The priests' and doctors say you are dying, father. The royal court has already begun to prepare me for a coronation to become the pharaoh of Egypt!"

"You are my son and you have your mother's gentle spirit watching over you, you will be among the greatest of pharaohs in all of time." Akhenamnkhanen praised.

"I fear I am not ready, father. Up till now, I've relied on your wisdom and guidance,"

"As you should for the rest of your life and rein as the pharaoh. Do not forget what I have taught you my son and follow your own path. Mine is calling me away to join Ra." Akhenamnkhanen interrupted his son.

Atem smiled softly. His father always had told him to heed his valued wisdom since Atem was a small boy- especially after Tatamu, Atem's mother died when the young prince was only ten… nine years ago. He was a man of nineteen now, old enough to have already sired his own children and watch over Egypt as its pharaoh, but he had hoped his father would be at his side when he finally accepted his birthright, but now it would seem that his long wait was in vein- with his father's death, Atem is forced to ascend the throne of Egypt as her pharaoh.

"I will never forget your wisdom, father." Atem promised as he rest his head on his father's hand he held with in both his own. Even though it was the warm-dry season, the old pharaoh's hands were chilled to the touch, another sign that stabbed at Atem's heart. The prince's odd, tri-colored hair hid his face, though it was in an upright style. His blond bangs more than enough to hide the tears on the brink from falling down.

"My son, it is not all terrible as it seems. The gods have given me a vision about you that make me proud of whom you have become and who you will be." Akhenamnkhanen said softly as his breath thinned. He was fading from this world while the gods called him away.

"Father..," Atem looked up sharply when he felt Akhenamnkhanen's hand twitch and lay lax.

"Take these words as my parting to you: In the times to come, your very being and Egypt will be burdened with darkness…" the old man struggled with his last breaths, "Don't forget your light, my son. Don't let her pass you….pass you…buh-yyyy…," his breath exhaled once more and then his chest stilled while Akhenamnkhanen's body lay motionless as if he were peacefully at sleep. His silvery-glazed violet eyes were closed for all eternity.

Atem stood slowly, not wanting to break the silence his father's death laid before him just yet.

The golden doors of the pharaoh's room slowly opened to reveal Seto, the high priest his father put heavy faith into. Neither Seto nor Atem knew why the old Pharaoh had such unyielding faith in the young priest, but Seto had proven himself time and again under pharaoh Akhenamnkhanen's rule, never knowing that the pharaoh himself was Seto's own Uncle and Atem his cousin. The priest hesitated at the door, seeing the prone form of the late pharaoh lay upon the bed with the prince of Egypt standing solemnly at the edge.

He finally cleared his throat to gather Atem's attention, "It has happened..?" Seto ventured.

"Pharaoh Akhenamnkhanen has passed." Atem confirmed quietly, still not turning to face Seto.

Seto let silence fall between the two of them again. As young boys, Atem and he were rivals, always trying to best the other in anything they could justify competing in, but as men, they had grown father apart: Seto to his training under the priests' and Atem in the ways of becoming the pharaoh someday and taking armies to wars. Atem was a renowned general of his army and was well respected among his countrymen. He has never lost a battle yet.

"I see," Seto shifted, not looking at Atem. He was embarrassed in how he was acting in front of the soon-to-be pharaoh, but this man had never tugged at Seto's hard won sympathy before. Seto had loved the late pharaoh as if he were his own father, but his son, Atem was another story.

"ATEEEEEEEEEEM!!!!" Seto nearly jumped at the loud and obnoxious howl that echoed through the corridors of the palace royalty quarters.

Atem turned, genuinely surprised when he say his Captain of the Guard, Katsuya Jounouchi bolting into the pharaohs quarters out of breath, not bothering any mind to Seto on his way in. the blond captain panted heavily, his short, layered hair all out of proportions and his over all appearance seemed quite alarmed. His brown eyes wide as if he'd just seen Horus himself!

"Katsuya? What is the meaning of all this?" Atem stepped forward to his best friend and captain of the guard.

"The-the sacred fountain of your mother's garden!" Katsuya panted.

"What of Lady Tatamu's sacred fountains?" Seth demanded quippedly at the captain.

The captain glared at Seto, "I'll sew your lips together later and see how well your insults get to me then!" he promised darkly, then turned back to the young prince of Egypt, "Atem, there was a woman in the waters of the sacred fountains!"

"You came all this way, howling like a jackal out of hell and its all because a _woman_ fell into the sacred fountains?" Seto snarled at Katusyas impudence.

"She didn't fall in!" Katsuya snapped back, "She sprung up from their depths as if the fountains gave birth to her!"

"Fountains giving birth to women??" Atem blinked confused, sharing a look with the high priest, Seto who just scoffed at the idea.

"Katsuya, do not badger lord Atem with your drunken ramblings!" the priest snapped, stepping toward the captain of the guard threateningly to discourage the man from wasting his or the new pharaohs time any longer.

"I AIN'T FUCK'N DRUNK YOU HOLYER THAN THOU STUPID PREIST GUY!" Katsuya snapped, "The woman is fair skinned with brown hair and eyes of the northern peoples- blue! She's dressed in foreign clothing and struggled to the surface of the sacred fountain as if she were drowning and then she just konked out- she fainted!"

Atem's eyes fell to the floor in thought before looking up to his friend, "Where is this woman now?"

"My men have her in a cell down in the dungeon. They're so superstitions; they believe her to be a demon of Horus's underworld or something. Your _Saladin_ is watching over her." Katsuya replied, having gotten his breath in control once more.

At this, Atem raised a brow, "Saladin, you say?" now that was interesting. Saladin rarely left his own quarters and only stayed near Atem's presence. The exotic panther felt threatened around others and was prone to attack. Once the great cat attacked, it wasn't easy for Atem to calm him again.

"You're not seriously going to believe this, are you?" Seto groused.

Atem merely glanced at Seto, but it was all he had to do to give the doubtful priest the warning to shut his mouth while he still could, "Take me to this… surprise guest of the sacred fountain, Katsuya."

09870987908a7=-098-090987-98098-098-7098-098-08-098-098-098-

"Mmmnnn… my god, what happened to me…?" Anzu started to stir with a groan, "What a freaky dream…" she slowly sat up, cradling her head in her hand. She winced when her feet touched very cold ground and… was that dirt?

"Wha…?" she froze as she started to take in her surroundings.

This was _not_ her bed…

_Not _her room-

_Not _Japan…

She was sitting on a cot… a very dirty smelly cot.

This room… was barred off on one wall, had dirt floors and a pan in the corner that smelled and she didn't even want to know what it was supposed to be used for!

She was… she was just not in Japan… that much she knew. Japan wasn't this hot this time of year. It didn't smell of sweat and heat and animal hides and … who knows what else but it DEFINITELY was _not _Japan!

"Oh. My. God! Where they hell am I??" Anzu gulped wild-eyed.

"You funny human female…," a deep, purring voice startled her.

"Who said that??" she looked around frantically.

"You hear me?" the purr questioned as if in surprise.

"Wha-what's that supposed to mean??" Anzu replied.

"Stupid female. I'm over here. No, not that way, this way!" the voice quipped.

Anzu's fell on a large predatory cat with sleek black as night fur and glowing golden-green eyes that watched her intelligently, "Here I am." It purred to her.

"I-I-.. You're a… Panther??" Anzu blinked, "I'm talking to a PANTHER??"

"No see any guards, yes. You hear Saladin." The great cat replied. Its tail swayed behind it as if this pleased him.

"Sa-Saladin?"

"That what master call me." Saladin seemed to preen with pride, "Master is great ruler of the humans here."

"What is he a king or something?" Anzu only half-heartedly guessed.

"They call him Prince, but he soon be Pharaoh." The cat replied as if she were serious, "Master will be pleased with you- you have gift of tongue."

"Gift of what?? Wait-wait a minute- PHARAOH!" it then dawned on her, "I'm in… I'm in Egypt????!"

((**Bold words are spoken in Egyptian**))

"**You there! The prince has come to judge you! Come here!**" a Soldier started to bark in a foreign language Anzu didn't understand, but Saladin seemed to. He stood from his haunches and looked eagerly toward the bars. He had been sitting quietly watching over Anzu in the corner of her cell. Soon as the soldier saw the great cat he backed away fearfully while Saladin grunted.

'Master has come to see funny female human.' He said, looking from the bars to Anzu.

"I have a name just like you do," Anzu replied flippantly, hardly believing she was arguing with a jungle cat in Egypt, "It's Anzu."

'Master want see Anzu.' The cat retorted correctly… somewhat. He spoke in chopped phrases.

"How do you know?" Anzu stayed where she was firmly even as more soldiers came to the bars to see why the first hadn't retrieved the prisoner, but upon seeing Saladin in there with her, they nervously looked from the cat to somewhere behind them.

'Man just said so.' The cat tilted his head, 'You do not understand your own breed?'

"No I do not understand Egyptian." Anzu bit back.

Saladin tilted his head the other way, 'Not understand. Anzu should know her own speak.'

"I speak JAPANEESE, not EGYPTIAN!" Anzu growled, impressing Saladin with how well her human vocal chords could mimic the animalistic noise.

"**Sire, we tried to retrieve the prisoner for you, but with the beast in there and-,**" the guard stammered.

"**There's no need, I'll go to her.**" A new, younger, more masculine voice startled Anzu from her glare-contest with the curious panther. She looked to the bars only to stare at the man who stared equally as curious as she was. His hair reminded her of the style she would see on a punk-rocker in high school with how it stood in a star-burst fashion above his head. His blond bangs framed his face that held jeweled mahogany-violet eyes on tanned skin. The rest of his hair was black with deep red highlights that flashed in the sun. He wore nothing but a golden necklace on his torso and golden cuffs on his wrists. Another golden band that probably marked him as a royal band across his forehead and he wore a light cloth material around his waist like a kilt.

He certainly was something to look at! She could barely tear her eyes away from the way his sinewy muscles across his toned chest, abs and arms. He seemed to watch her much in the same fashion as she to him.

"**Who are you?**" the Adonis-man spoke.

But she had no idea what he was saying…

"I-I don't know what you're..,"

"**What language is that? What does 'Nani' mean??**" He spoke again, this time his face furrowed with what appeared to be confusion.

"I already said to you guys that I don't have a clue what you're saying!" Anzu snapped, getting irritated.

'Master say who are you.' Anzu turned to Saladin as the panther sauntered up to her side and sat down beside her, leaning his head toward her hand, silently asking her to pet him. Her hand seemed to move on its own automatically as it scratched lightly though his fur, tugging a content and blissful purr out of the great cat, 'Much loved,' he sighed.

"**Milord, is she a demon? The beast, Saladin purrs for her!**" one of the men shivered.

"**And she looked down at him as if he spoke to her and then she responded in her gibberish!**" another backed away, "**She has dark magic in her!**"

"**Grow a pair, will ya?**" Katsuya rolled his eyes, "**She obviously isn't completely normally having been born from a sacred fountain! Besides,**" he looked back to the beauty that had a beast purring under her touch and felt a pang of jealousy the new pharaoh seemed to share for the jungle cat, "**Can you honestly look at her and call her evil? She just tamed a cat that would sooner maul a woman or man other than his majesty than cuddle up with them like a kitten.**"

"**Get me Donatello, the Roman Seer.**" Atem ordered his men with out looking away from the wildest sight. His faithful companion, Saladin was acting like a spoilt, loving kitten under the touch of this enchanting rare beauty. He'd never seen anyone with such fair skin that seemed to glow ivory in the sun, but in the shade, the shadows gave her the appearance of at least some kind of tan. Her light brown hair he had only seen on Honda, Katusyas second in command, Katusyas sister, Shizuka, and his priest, Seto. But her shade seemed to have a chestnut tone to it. He wandered if it were as soft to the touch as it looked…

"**Milord, you sent for me?**" Donatello bowed in his cloak he and his Uncle were accustomed to wearing. Much in the Hebrew style, but Atem didn't judge the elder man.

"**Can you translate to this woman's language?**" Atem nodded to the woman in the cell watching them suspiciously.

Donatello took one look at the woman then turned to his lord, "**I have no idea, she seems like a silent one. Is she impaired in hearing or vocal?**" he asked, but didn't seem serious.

"**Oi, you in there,**" Katsuya banged on the iron bars, startling the woman inside and urging a threatening snarl from the panther at her side as Saladin bristled at Katsuya for interrupting his fur-rub and making all that racket, "**Speak up!**"

"I told you guys, I. DON'T. KNOW. A. FLIPPIN. WORD. YOUR. FREAK'N. SAYING! STOP HARASSING ME!" Anzu roared back, startling the three men with her flare of temper that, to them, shot out of no where! Her blue eyes held a deadly fire that all men recognized in a woman who meant business.

"**I think you've angered her…**" Atem glared at Katsuya from out of the corner of his eye.

Katsuya shrugged, "**She spoke, didn't she? Whatcha got, Donny?**" he turned to the Seer.

Donatello sighed, "**This language is not with in mine or even my Uncles knowledge. She's probably very confused and frustrated right now.**"

"**I can see that…**," Atem watched the way those blue eyes spat venomous fire at them like an agitated spitting cobra. He couldn't help but fell fascinated with how those diamond eyes shone even brighter in her spark of temper. Saladin seemed to try and calm her down as the cat rubbed his head along her thigh with a low moan. Atem couldn't help but think how lucky the panther was…

"**But, there is a way… the soldiers said she was… **_**talking**_** to Saladin?**" Donatello turned to Atem, forcing the young prince to look away from the rare desert… cobra.

"**It appeared so… and the fact that he seems so taken with her is alarming.**" Atem replied.

"**Then she might just be the one.**" Donatello grinned slyly.

"**The who?**" Katusyas golden brows rose.

"**The Beast Tamer. He- or in this case- SHE who can speak a thousand tongues and appease the restless beasts.**" Katsuya replied.

"**Yeah, right. If she were one who could speak a thousand tongues, why can't she speak our language and keeps jibber-jabbing at us?**" Katsuya snorted.

"**One who can speak a thousand tongues doesn't just know them by birth. Animals instinctually are able to communicate with her soon as they take in her scent. Human tongue is different and as such it is learned a different way.**" Donatello slyly looked at the Pharaoh who was becoming suspicious.

"**We have to teach her?**" Katsuya guessed.

"**Much simpler. A mere… Kiss will unlock the power with in her to understand and speak our language. Doesn't matter who kisses who where, but so long as there is a connection of some sort of the like, she will speak fluent Egyptian with out even realizing it." ** Donatello was practically smirking at the two shell-shocked men.

"**I'll do it!**" Katsuya volunteered, but Saladin roared warning at the man when he touched the bar doors.

"**Would you fight Saladin to get to her? And win?**" Donatello chuckled, "**Besides, I doubt Lady Mai would appreciate her fiancé kissing another woman, no matter what the circumstances may be.**"

"**No thanks- I choose LIFE**" Katsuya backed away.

Donatello turned slyly and expectantly towards his lord, "**Milord? Saladin will not attack his beloved Master.**"

Atem glared suspiciously at the seer, "**You swear this is not another way? This is actually called for?**"

"**Why, of course my lord! The other way is to teach her as a child, but I doubt she'll understand what we're tying to do to her and cause problems fighting against our teachers.**" The seer replied.

Atem glared at the seer and then to the woman behind bars, she still watched them warily, like a doe in the antelope herds watched a lion that lazily lounged around in the shade nearby her heard. That's just what she was- an Antelope doe.

'_Don't forget spitting cobra with that sharp temper.'_ He thought to himself.

"**If it is truly the only way..," **Atem sighed finally in defeat.

"**It is, Milord, it is."** Donatello reassured.

"**Then I'll do what must be done so we may put this bizarreness all behind us.**" Atem took the keys from Katsuya and opened the dungeon door.

Anzu eminently retreated alarmed, "What's going on?!" she demanded, but the tri-colored hair man came closer to her, albeit cautiously.

'Master has come!' Saladin purred happily as he approached the man and rubbed his black head against him. The man took a moment to run a hand through the great cats' fur before setting his sights on Anzu once again.

"Stay back you! I mean it! I'm a lot scarier than I look!" she warned with a bluff. She tried to school her expression to be intimidating, but it only seemed to confuse him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she ducked away from his approach and scurried to the opposite side of the cell, she was now against the bars where the other men were, but at least the bars shielded her from them. It was the one inside she was worried about!

"_**Hesshra-ra-neth,"**_ one of the men murmured behind her, Anzu looked back at him confused, but found her feet refused to move! She was stuck to the floor!

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME? HUH! RELEASE. ME. THIS. INSTA-," she was shocked to silence as warm, large hands cupped her face and dragged her head so her lips met with warm moist ones of the man that Saladin called Master. All thought of running away or even caring that her feet were practically planted to the ground escaped her as those warm lips ceased hers for a precious few seconds before he retreated. She caught herself before she groaned for him not to go, but couldn't help that she leaned forward slightly after him.

She slowly opened her eyes to determined mahogany-violet jewel eyes and blinked, "What… what did you do that for?" she asked quietly.

"It worked?" she turned her head sharply when she understood that voice! The blond on the others side of the bars- _he _had said it!

"Of course it did." This time it was the cloaked one with silver-green eyes retorted as if it were an insult that the blond thought otherwise could happen.

"Now then… what is your name, girl?" this time it was the man who kissed her that spoke.

Anzu blushed when her eyes collided with his own and quickly looked away embarrassed with the way she reacted to his kiss. He didn't even seem like he did anything to her! But here she was still able to feel the brush of his lips against her own- no matter that he just took her first-kiss!

"Why should I tell you? You put me in a cell." Anzu retorted, venting her frustration at his lack of reaction.

Atem raised a brow, "And I apologize on behalf of my superior's men, but its not every day a woman SPRINGS up from our sacred fountain and then Saladin curls up to them like a kitten and they spout gibberish at us through jail bars." Atem replied, meaning no offense, but Anzu took it anyways.

"JIBBERISH? I'M JAPANEESE AND SPOKE IT PLAINLY TO YOU JUST LIKE YOU ARE NOW! WHY DID YOU STARE AT ME DUMBLY BEFORE WHEN I SPOKE BUT NOW YOU GET EVERY WORD I'M SAYING?" Anzu hissed.

"You're not speaking Japanese Miss." Donatello spoke up, "You're speaking Egyptian."

"Egyptian…?" Anzu held a hand to her throat, "That cant be right, stop playing jokes!"

"Catches on quick doesn't she..." Katsuya rolled his eyes, "Look, lady if anyone's pulling the jokes around here, its _you_! What were you doing in the sacred fountain?"

"WHAT SACRED FOUNTAIN?!" Anzu snapped, "I wasn't in any stupid fountain! I read a few lines out a book and then- SHAZAM! The wind picked up, lights went out, and suddenly I was in water and couldn't breathe, so I struggled to the surface, fainted- then I woke up here and finding out your cat can TALK!"

"He… doesn't…," Atem looked from the ranting girl to Saladin, "I've never heard him speak a word in his life….,"

"Excuse me?" Anzu now looked from Atem to Saladin, "He can't? But I just…,"

"I think I liked her better when she didn't talk our language…" Katsuya grumped.

"Perhaps the shock of what's occurred to the lady is stressing her sanity levels. Shall we postpone this conversation for tomorrow so that we may all get some sleep to recoup?" Donatello suggested.

"You're just giving into her? Just like that?" Katsuya complained, "She's the suspicious one here! The suspect! She's not a guest!"

"On contrer, my idiotic blond friend," Donatello held up a finger, "If she is in fact the Beast Tamer, which she probably is, than she not only is our guest, but just short of our demigoddess."

"D-Demi-Goddess?" Anzu stuttered.

"The Beast Tamer has not been reborn into a human for two-thousand years. Why would someone like this girl here show up now? The Tamer's powers only reappear when there is a need for them." Atem said as if Anzu wasn't there.

"You know, I do have a name, and while I am a GIRL my name is not the same as my gender." She huffed.

"Well then, if you would have given me a name to call you, I wouldn't have to call you girl, now would I?" Atem retorted coolly.

"Who said you HAD to call me anything?" she demanded, irked by this man's arrogance.

"Would you rather I call you a _that _or an _it_?" Atem challenged.

"My name's neither of those either, so NO!" Anzu snapped back, rising to the bait in his voice.

"Really then? Go on, tell me your name," he prodded deviantly.

"ARGH! It's Anzu! Anzu Mazaki!" Anzu bit back.

"Mazahkee…," Donatello tried out the feel of the name on his tongue, "Defiantly not from any providence around our lands or our enemies for that matter. So she's not a spy."

"I'm from Japan." Anzu grumbled. She had turned away from Atem and stubbornly refused to look or address him now.

"Hmm… is that North?" Donatello asked curious as a kitten.

"No, far east. Across the continent, over a sea, on a collection of gathered islands. Like Hawaii." She offered.

"What is Hawaii…?" Atem blinked confused.

"Hawaii, you know, in America? Well not IN it, but its part of America." She explained.

All she received were blank stares, "Sheesh," Katsuya sighed finally, "Ask her one question, she confuses the hell out of you with even more strange babbling."

"It's not babble, its real!" Anzu bit out through her clenched teeth.

"Well, it certainly appears that we have much to discuss in the morning." Donatello cut off Katusyas retort, in favor of stopping the argument before it could progress, "Lady Mazaki certainly must desire a nice bath, meal, rest and… cloths..?"

At the mention of her attire, Anzu glanced down and squealed mortified. She was only clad in her plush white bathrobe- it was no longer white- and the sash was loose. She was sporting a hefty amount of cleavage for the men to enjoy unknowingly and she suddenly felt the draft where she shouldn't.

Yanking her robe to cover her self more properly, Anzu glared at Atem, "YOU PERVERT! YOU JUST CAME IN HERE WHILE I WAS PRACTICALLY NAKED!" she accused sharply, backing away from him.

Now Atem was really confused, "Naked?" she looked covered up to him.

"She calls _that _naked..?" Katsuya murmured to Donatello who once again jumped to the rescue.

"Lady Mazaki, if you will, I'll take you to more proper quarters where you can get more comfortable and rest." He offered, opening the dungeon door wider so she could walk out.

Anzu did in fact want to follow Donatello to that tempting and heavenly sounding offer, but unfortunately that Atem guy was standing between her and the door out, still staring at her with a solemn stance and emotionless eyes that chilled her as if they could see deep with in her own soul.

"Ahem," Donatello cleared his throat, "Milord, I believe Master Seto still has something's he would like to address with you before the day is done. Should you go do that now?"

Atem snapped out of it with a shake of his head and turned to Donatello, "Yes, I'll go see to him now. Come Katsuya." He nodded to the captain of the guard who pouted.

"But I don't wanna go see the guy who has one too many sticks up his ass and fantasizes about my baby sister." He pouted.

"Come along, Katsuya," Atem grinned at his friend hopelessly as he walked out of the cell and down the dungeon corridors, looking over his shoulder to see if the blond was coming and using the excuse to get another glimpse of the strangely alluring woman he left behind in the care of the Roman Seer, Donatello and his companion, Saladin.

"It's safe now, you can come out of there." Donatello nodded knowingly while he witnessed Anzu watching the soon-to-be pharaohs back warily as the young man walked away, "What do you say about that bath, hmm?"

"That would be… that would be great, thanks," Anzu suddenly felt self-conscious around this guy. The way she did when she talked to the librarians' Nephew- Donatello.

"Then follow me this way, please, milady."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Fanfictioners- seriously? Nothing? Come on! Lmao! I know ur at least reading this a little- the hits show it!

Cant I hear what you think through a little itty bitty review?? (Whimpers)

Or is it because the plot hasn't thickened enough yet? That's what usually happens (sigh)

Alrigty then- I shall continue!

-Disclaimer- Yeah still don't own the who Yugioh thing… I'd be maken the big bucks if I did.

YOU ROCK OUT LOUD VAMPGIRL8!!! Ur the first and ONLY review thus far and for that u get as many cookies and kudos as u like ^_^

Chapter Three Royal Stallions

"Do you prefer lavender scent or jasmine?" the young maid asked Anzu while the young woman took her bath.

"Jasmine will be fine, Shizuka." Anzu replied.

"I like that one too!" Shizuka giggled as she set the Jasmine bath oils aside and tucked the lavender scented oils back into the small cubby made for them in the bath house.

Anzu smiled at the optimistic maid. Soon as Donitelo introduced the two women, Anzu and Shizuka immediately bonded and became friends. The chamber maid was charming and easy to get along with, Anzu couldn't believe that dumbass captain, Katsuya was sweet little Shizuka's brother. The sixteen year old young maid acted nothing like her twenty-year-old brother!

Their only resemblance, Anzu could catch, was their chocolate brown eyes they shared and slight facial structures.

'Anzu smell funny,' Saladin made a low sound that startled Shizuka.

"Saladin, that's not very nice." Anzu adomonished the great jungle cat that lay on his side, propped up against the far wall from the two women. He didn't leave Anzu at all since she left the cell.

'Anzu smell better with out strong stuff.' He groaned, but stayed silent after that, laying down his head again and resting his golden-green eyes. his black tail twitiching every now and then contently.

Shizuka let out a slow breath, "He certainly seems different. Saladin has always been volatile, but around you, he seems calmer. Happy, even." The young girl reached over the in-ground pool of water serving as Anzu's tub to hand her the oils for her skin and hair, "Is it true you can talk to animals?"

"I dunno," Anzu replied honestly as she lathered up her hair, "I mean, I can understand Saladin, but I haven't met any other animals to test it out yet. maybe its just one animal I hear?"

Shizuka shrugged, "I wouldn't know either. Master Donitelo and his Uncle are Roman Seers. If anyone would know, it would be the immortal seers."

"Immortal Seers?" Anzu tilt her head.

"Yes, it is said that the Daiangelos are the messengers of the gods themselves and as such are seers that can communicate with the gods and see into the future. Donitelo's kinda cute too!" the girl gushed.

"Immortal huh…" she wandered absently if these Daiangelos were the same one's back in her time in Domino City. Just by talking with Shizuka and looking around her, Anzu figured she not only had teleported somewhere but some-WHEN as well. The exact date hadn't been specified yet to her though.

"Say, Ms. Anzu, would you like to test out your gift?" Shizuka offered.

"Test it? How?" Anzu dunked her head underwater and scrubbed at her scalp till it was clean, and then resurfaced and flipped her hair of her face.

"The Royal Stables have dozens of animals there, we can see if you can speak to any of them like you can with Saladin, but Saladin himself will have to stay up here in the palace. The horses get terrified when he's near the barn." Shizuka said.

'Stupid hoofed prey.' Saladin huffed in a snort.

Anzu giggled, "Saladin just called the horses 'stupid, hoofed prey'."

"He did?" Shizuka glaced up at the cat that watched them lazily as Shizuka helped Anzu out of the water and wrapped a cloth around her to help her dry off, "I never knew he had a sense of humor. He always stares a lot, usually."

"I wouldn't call it a sense of humor exactly..," Anzu eyed the large dark predator as she and Shizuka started to leave the baths. Shizuka held out an Egyptian-cotton robe for her to wear that was practically see-through, but Anzu had the other towel-like cloth wrapped around herself so she felt safe enough. Once covered, Shizuka lead the way out of the baths, cautiously keeping Anzu between herself and Saladin.

"Once we get you to your quarters in the harem, we'll get you some fresh clothing and then go to the stables. Saladin can wait for us there." Shizuka bubbled about.

Anzu stopped walking suddenly, "H-Harem?"

"Why, yes. Prince Atem's Harem is where you are to stay." Shizuka stopped as well and turned to look back at Anzu when she realized the other girl wasn't following her, "Is there a problem, Ms. Anzu?"

"I'm staying in _his_ harem???" Anzu felt herself fall into shock, once again.

"Anzu?" Shizuka approached the girl worriedly, "Anzu? Are you alright? You seem rather pale… can you hear me Anzu?"

"No." Anzu stated firmly.

"No you can't hear me; No your not alright…? Which is it?" Shizuka didn't understand.

"No, I won't stay in _his _**harem**!" Anzu declared, glaring at Shizuka and daring her to object.

"Not stay in the royal harem?? But why?" Shizuka was now _very_ confused.

"I refuse to be a _whore_ for that…. That MAN!" Anzu stomped her foot, "It's degrading and I simply won't do it! The stables loft sounds better to me!"

Shizuka fidgeted nervously under Anzu's glaring threat, "W-W-Well, its not my decision to say, but I'd never heard of a woman objecting from staying in the royal harem. I hear it's a lovely place and you'll be waited on hand and foot!" Shizuka reassured.

"I could care less about the benefits," Anzu huffed.

"Well, I'm afraid what's ordered is ordered." Shizuka sighed in defeat.

Anzu crossed her arms over her chest, "Then who do I have to go to, to get it _un_-ordered?"

"Wh-Who??" Shizuka squeaked. Anzu lifted an expectant brow, "Well… you see… it is the prince who ordered it, so it's the prince who could… un-order it…,"

"The Prince… you mean that tri-hair-colored guy? Atem, right?" Shizuka nodded, keeping her eyes trained to the floor, "This can't be seriously happening to me…" Anzu grumbled, her forehead falling to the palm of her hand, "That bastard would do it too,"

"P-Pardon??" Shizuka had never heard of Lord Atem being called as such a vulgar term.

"Fine, let's just go there, already. I have somewhat of a hearing with the guy and his merry men tomorrow, I'll bring it up then. No need to go out of my way just to see him any more than I already have to." Anzu relented grudgingly.

"Yes, Ms. Anzu" Shizuka bowed shortly and then continued to lead on.

Saladin yawned widely at Anzu's side, 'Anzu no like master?' he asked, looking up at her.

"No, I don't." Anzu huffed with a blush as she remembered why.

'Do all human females turn colors like Anzu?'

"I think question and answer time has come to an end now." Anzu growled under her breath.

Saladin gave a low grunt of objection, but remained silent the rest of the way to the harem quarters.

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"Bakura, are you sure you should be going out like this?" Hasamu cautioned his fair-haired leader while Bakura dressed in his light robes to travel in the sands toward Cairo.

"I have a score to settle with the pharaoh, and that score cant be settled if the rumors of that old bastards death are true." The dark tan man with red eyes retorted to his overly-caring second-hand man.

Hasamu was an albino blind young man. His skin was pale and sensitive to sunlight, so the blind seventeen-year old only ventured out of the caravan tents at night- when most of their band of thieves ventured outside anyways. Hasamu's pale silver-gray eyes and white hair often got him confused as being Bakura's little brother or worse, his son, but Bakura had adopted the kid long ago and took him under his wing. He didn't care if people confused them as brothers or father and son, he never bothered to correct them, so rumors ran wild even with in their volatile band of thieves. The rumor of father and son relations weren't too far a stretch, considering Bakura's impressive night-life and debauchery-reputation. It was easy to say the man got around if nothing else.

"Bakura, with the pharaoh dead, there will be gaurds everwhere to ensure that the new pharaoh, Atem is safe. You'll be slaughtered on the sight just for entering the palace!" the boy rebuked.

"Hasamu," Bakura tsked as he finished tying his pants and approached the white haired boy with a rare smile, "You worry so much you sound like my mother, not my son or brother." He chuckled while Hasamu shoved his large hand off his short wispy hair and glared unseeingly, but a smile tugged his lips.

"You seem like you need a mother more than a brother or son. Though I am neither, I can give you hell as a _mother_!" the boy threatened.

"Going to scold me now, _mother_?" Bakura taunted as he stepped away from Hasamu.

"I should!" Hasamu shot back.

"You'll be one of the millions that do daily, kid," Bakura smirked and held open the tent flap.

"You're not seriously going to the palace! Didn't you hear a word I just said!" Hasamu snapped, "Besides, its broad daylight! The shadows of the night wont cover you and with your current condition after the other nights' little _adventure_ to the Temple of Beasts, you cant be serious!"

Bakura's smirk grew, "What's life with out a few risks, eh? And my _condition_ will not hinder me this time. I've learned how to handle the beast when it surfaces,"

'_Mostly'_ Bakura added mentally with a shrug.

"Bakura…," Hasamu didn't buy it one bit.

"Seriously, kid, you sure you're not a woman?" Bakura teased to get Hasamu's mind off his own troubles, "Besides, who said I was going to raid the palace itself just to get valuble information? The royal stables should surfice something as meager as the lastest gossip. Who knows," Bakura shrugged, "I just might steal Atem's stallion just to piss him off and send him a messege that he is now the target since dear daddy is dead."

"Thieves…," Hasamu shook his head in mock forlorn.

Just before Bakura let the door drap of the tent fall closed he looked over his shoulder slyly at Hasamu, knowing the kid could hear the sarcasm in his voice, "I know, and you live with forty of them too," he grinned and let the flap door fall down before Hasamu could retort.

Bakura laughed heartily, catching the muffled curses of Hasamu from inside the thick clothed tent as he strode across the sand of the caravan forty-thieves called home. They were constantly on the move, changing camp position in the desert every other day or so to keep the bounty hunters and soldiers off their tracks. They even had a base deeper in the desert near an unknown oasis where they would retreat often when they felt like taking some R-n-R.

A large, dark brown camel that stood untied near a herd of various beast of burden the thieves used lifted its head when it caught Bakura's scent. It groaned and called out to him, bobbing its head slightly in eagerness as he brought his fingers to his lips and whistled for the beast to come forth. The camel obeyed and quickly trotted over to Bakura, butting its large head against his shoulder in greetings.

"And good morning to you as well Ahmed." Bakura patted the beast while taking reins near Ahmed's mouth and giving a few gentle tugs to signal the beast to lower himself to the sand.

Ahmed tucked his legs under him and sat in the sand, waiting for Bakura patiently to mount the saddle. Once Bakura swung his leg over, he tugged back on the reins three times in short tugs and Ahmed jolted up to all fours again, shacking the sand off himself restlessly.

"Hut-tut!" Bakura barked as he nudged the camels sides with his heels and Ahmed bolted off into the sandy seas toward Cairo.

The red-eyed man felt a restless presence with in him and could feel the spirit of the beast inside of him stir from its slumber he had wrestled it into only the night before when it had demanded satisfaction for its primal lust for blood or rutting, either would have done it in, but Bakura had denied the beast control to take what it wanted and stood still in the middle of the desert until the beast calmed down hours after struggling with himself to stay in control. It now stirred in a different way- curious almost. Bakura gritted his teeth, ready and waiting for a surge of the beast if it decided it was its own turn to take control of his body again.

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Now dressed in fresh cloths suited for the Egyptian sun, Anzu and Shizuka walked out from the palace garden gates to the stables not far from the Nile. The barn stood between the great Nile and the Palace itself.

"I have never wanted to be a horse, but now I wouldn't mind if I was cursed to be one if I lived here!" Anzu gasped as she took in the sold gold and white granite barn that held the royal steeds. The stalls were filled with high-bred horses with fine coats and long waving manes. Seventy heads hung out of their stalls curiously when they sensed the presence of the two women entering the barn. There were only a few stable hands since today was a rather slow day, and it felt like the girls had the stable all to themselves. The horses whinnied greetings and eagerly bobbed their heads and paced their stalls, hoping for a treat.

"Well? Go ahead, Anzu," Shizuka offered with an out stretched arm toward the horses, "Talk to one of them."

Anzu looked around and concentrated, seeing if she could _hear_ the voices of the horses and understand them, but she heard nothing. The horses just stared at her quietly, probably wandering if she would give them a treat or not if they showed off.

"I don't hear anything." Anzu sighed in defeat, "Maybe its just Saladin?"

"Try talking to them? Horses communicated through body language mostly, so its no wander you _hear_ nothing." Shizuka urged, "Try Judas, he's a sweetheart!" Shizuka took Anzu's hand and dragged her toward the back of the stable and out of the stalls. outside, against the back of the barn with built in over hangs for shade was a round pin with a large black horse that didn't look native to Egypt. The black stallion was much larger than the Arabians inside the stalls in the barn. His legs were ticker and had longer hair along the back of his ankles. His mane was thicker and wavier as well and he had bright brown eyes that watched them with intrest.

"Is this Judas?" Anzu watched in awe and wander as the large animal pivoted his pointy ears at them and walked up to the fence near them, greeting them with a low nickering noise.

"Yes, different isn't he? He was a gift from the pale ones of the north. The Romans got him from their raids in the lands even further above their own and gave him to Master Atem as a sign of good faith when Atem led our troops to help fight off invaders for the Romans."

"Really? Atem is soldier?" Anzu was surprised to hear.

"Better, a General." Shizuka beemed at the way the elder girl's eyes widened in awe, "And it is Judas that he rode into battle every time. With this stallion, Master Atem never was de-horsed in battle and led his troops successfully every time he met foe."

"Wow, so he does have something else going for him other than being a jerk?" Anzu giggled.

'Master Atem is an honorable man, Tamer.' A deep, European accent interrupted with a snort.

Anzu jumped, looking at Judas suspiciously, "I think… I think I just _heard_ him."

"You heard Judas?! Oooh! What did he say, what did he say?!" Shizuka grinned ecstatically.

"He said that Atem was an honorable man and called me _Tamer_." Anzu relayed then turned to the stallion, "What do you mean by calling me Tamer?"

'You are the Beast Tamer. I can feel it in you.' the stallion shook his head, 'All beasts of the land, sky and seas know who you are. We all feel a sense of calm and peace in your presence. It give me great pleasure that you grace me with your presence, lady Tamer.' The great horse bowed his head with a graceful curved muscular neck to Anzu.

Anzu held up her hands in objection, "You really don't need to do that, I barely even know what a Tamer is, let alone deserve animals bowing to me." She reassured with a nervous chuckle. SHizuka watched them off to the side, waiting until Anzu was finished speaking with Judas before she jumped in and asked the girl questions she was bubbling with.

The horse tossed his head and stomped his large hoof in the sand, 'Nonsense, Tamer, you are the Tamer and need no training to know who you are. You deserve our utmost restpect just by being born who you are.' The horse complimented.

"Why-Why thank you," Anzu blushed, "Do you know anything more about the Tamer?" she asked.

'A Tamer is only born when the gods see fit that they are needed. I have never heard of a Tamer being a female human though.' The horse admitted with a shake of his head.

"Do you know what this _need_ may be this time?" Anzu ventured.

The horse flicked his tail, he seemed uncomfortable now, 'I haven't known just what it is just yet, but I feel that something is off. We've all been restless for the past two nights.' He nodded towards the stables, 'But I am unsure, Tamer, forgive my ignorance.'

"There is nothing to forgive, Judas, you've told me more then I knew already. Thank you" Anzu reached out and rubbed the horse's muzzle greatfully.

Judas let out a low sigh as if he were in heaven, 'As I've heard, even the touch of the Tamer brings peace and pleasure.' He moaned the way a content horse does.

Anzu retracted her hand slowly, smiling when Judas' big brown eyes seemed to sadden at her retreat, "I'll come back to see you later, but I'd like to greet the others if you don't mind?"

"Go right on, Lady Tamer, it's quite alright," Judas reassured with a toss of his head, "If you would, please speak with a dear friend of mine? She's a nice little mare towards the other back of the stalls inside. Cant miss her, she has the coat color of hot sand- buckskin, and black as night mane. She's the other cross-breed in the royal stables and my dearest friend. She'd be delighted to meet you, lady Tamer?"

"And what is her name?" Anzu asked curiously, in all her readings, she remembered mares being separated from all male horses at all times unless they were a breeding pair. Mares were never allowed in the royal stables, but were usually kept in a separate stable further away from the palace and usually on the opposite side where the war stallions were kept.

"Jazzel, my Lady Tamer." Judas replied.

"Then I shall speak with this Jazzel before I leave." Anzu promised.

"I thank you, Lady Tamer." Judas bowed.

"And I thank you, Judas for being so kind and helpful."

"Anytime," Judas snorted, "Good day to you madam?"

"And to you" Anzu nodded her head and turned from the round pin and back to the waiting Shizuka.

"Didn't I tell you he's a big sweetheart?" Shizuka gushed as she walked up to the fence to offer Judas a sugar cube, "I just love this big guy! You have to meet his girl friend, Jazzel! The pharaoh wants to breed them come foaling season, he says their a good match!"

"His _girl friend_, really?" Anzu cocked a brow at Judas, "She really is a 'dear friend', isn't she?" she said slyly.

Judas shook his mane about, 'I know nothing of what you speak of, Tamer.' He snorted as he chomped on his sugar-cubbed treat.

"Uh-huh, sure, Judas." Anzu rolled her eyes.

'Tis TRUE I tell you!' Judas protested.

Anzu laughed and told the out-of-the-loop Shizuka what Judas had said, sending both girls into a fit of laughter.

"Shizuka! SHIZUKA!" a stable hand called as he ran out from the stables, "Ah there you are, lady Shizuka!"

"Murram? What is it?" Shizuka replied as the dishevled man approached them, panting for breath.

"Your elder brother has sent for you, Shizuka, he says its urgent that you report back to the palace to him." Murram said out of breath.

"He always says its urgent." SHizuka rolled her eyes, "He probably just made Mai angery again and needs me to calm her down…. AGAIN." The young girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But Shizuka!" the man pleaded.

"I'll go." Shizuka sighed, "Relay to Katsuya that I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Yes, Ms. Shizuka!" the stable hand bowed his head and turned tail to bolt in the direction he came to relay the message.

"Shizuka, you can go to your brother if you need to. I'll be fine by myself here." Anzu offered.

"Oh no, I couldn't leave you alone! Murram was the only stable staff present in this barn, I couldn't leave you here with no one!" Shizuka protested.

"Shizuka, I'm not exactly alone…" Anzu pointedly looked around them to the horses in the stalls, "If I need help I can always ask someone."

"Hmm… you have a point." Shizuka bit her lip and looked to the ground. Her palm covering her mouth in thought, "If I linger too long, Katsuya tends to have a fit, and then I have Mai AND HIM to calm down."

"So go. I'll be fine here." Anzu urged.

"You're sure?" Shizuka looked up worriedly at Anzu.

Anzu smiled and waved her off, "Yeah, sure, I'll be fine, and I promised Judas to meet his lady friend before I left anyways,"

"Well…. If you're SURE…"

"I am."

"Then I'll… I'll hurry back here, then? You wait for me here while I run to Katsuya and come right back, alright? Don't leave the stables." SHizuka ordered more or less, "I'll find you easier that way."

"No leaving stables, got it." Anzu held up her right hand and put her left hand over her heart in an oath, but Shizuka didn't quite understand the meaning of the guesture, "Never mind, I'll be here."

"See you then?"

"See you then."

And with that, Shizuka hesittatly turned her back on Anzu and jogged back up to the palace to see what her dear brother wanted from her, having a good idea what it was, however.

Anzu took in a deep breath and sighed it out, happy to have some alone time, "Alrighty then…" she clapped her hands together as she turned to the horses behind her and rubbed her palms together, "So who is this Ms. Jazzel I've heard about? Hmm?"

'It's the Tamer..,' she heard one of many sudden murmmers of voices in the barn.

'Tamer? That pleasant smell is the Tamer!?' another whinnied excitedly.

'We welcome you Ms. Lady Tamer,' A white stallion bowed his head to her in the stall infront of her.

"Thank you, but you don't need to bow. It's not like I am royalty or anything." Anzu's face burned hot with embarisment.

'What can we do for you Ms. Lady Tamer?' a dark chocolate colored stallion with black mane and tale asked.

'Would you like a ride? Is that what you're hear for?' a palomino (golden horse with white mane) asked enthusiastically with a toss of his head.

'Yes, yes! A ride!' the white stallion pawed his front hoof, 'I would be honored to carry the Tamer upon my back, Lady Tamer.'

'No, nonsense! Pick me!' the bay (dark chocolate) one nickered, flicking his tail.

"No rides today," Anzu held up her hands to stop the stallions that suddenly seemed talkative, "I'm afraid I don't even know how to ride…,"

'Don't know how to ride??' the stallions shared a strange look and then the palomino turned to speak to her, 'Not a problem, young Ms. Tamer, we promise not to let you fall.' He reassured.

'After all, who better to teach one to ride than a horse your riding?' the bay whinnied as if laughing at his own joke.

"No, not today," Anzu replied, "Actually I'm looking for someone,"

'Who would that be?' the white stallion tilted his head curiously.

"Judas called her Jazzel?" Anzu's blue eyes looked from one horse to the other while they once again looked toward one another then back at her.

'Jazzel is usually boarded at the end of the stalls that way Ms. Tamer," the Palomino craned his neck over the stall door and pointed his muzzle down the long isle way to the right, "The stable hands like to keep her stall well away from ours. She wouldn't even be allowed in here if Master Atem didn't insist upon it. He seems quite fond of her since she was a wee little filly, but I didn't see the stable hands bring her in yet today for the after noon.' The stallion turned to the others in askance.

'I belive she's still in the paddock out near the river where grasses grow for light grazing. Its not too far, just follow that aisle out of the barn and keep straight- you should run right into the padock where she's held.' The bay bobbed his head as he spoke up.

"Thank you, boys," Anzu nodded her head greatfully to them, giving them each a rub on the forehead, "I promise to come back and talk to you three soon!" she replied.

'Strange, I never thought of the Tamer being someone like that.' The bay stallion sighed, 'Not that it's a bad thing.'

'Hmm..' the white stallion lift his head and snorted in disgust, 'Do you two smell camel near by?'

the other two stallions snorted, 'Must be a passing by peasent in for town or on the way to the nile.' The palomino swished his tail.

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"The pharaoh is making this easy on me…," Bakura grinned as he spotted the sand-bank coat of Atem's prized mare. The horse was well known in Egypt given that her coat was such a peculiar shade and that she was boarded in the royal stalls along with the war stallions only because Prince-soon-to-be-Pharaoh Atem favored her as his favorite pleasure-ride horse, "He'd get the picture very quickly if she were to suddenly disappear…"

It wasn't a bad deal for Bakura either- the mare was a fine horse, even if her bloodline wasn't as royally perfected as the Arabians in the royal pampering stalls. the mare was a desert-rat, much like Bakura. Atem had found her as a filly along the Nile, abandoned from her mother and heard.

"I'll just take her back where her blood belongs," Bakura shrugged as he dismounted Ahmed who groaned as he tucked in his legs to lay down and rest in the shade of a palm tree near the paddock. Bakura knew the camel wouldn't wander off, Ahmed was too lazy to bother moving until Bakura returned for him. he unwound the leather rope from Ahmeds saddle horn and coiled it at the ready for the mare.

Said mare was no where to be seen. She had trotted off in the paddock away from the fenceline when Bakura wasn't looking, "Now where is that broad?" he groaned. He was NOT about to go in there and chase a stubborn mare around forever. She was supposed to be a dumb beast of burden who would stand still and wait paitently for him to slip a rope over her neck and follow Ahmed's lead the rest of the way.

"Why hello to you too," a womans voice startled Bakura. He instinctively dropped low to his stomach on the sand, wincing as the sun-heated ground bit at his skin, "Why thank you, you're very pretty yourself, Jazzel. Judas told me about you when I spoke with him earlier."

'_Is that crazy bitch seriously talking to a __**horse**_?!' Bakura thought as he leaned up a bit to see over the sand duns he hid behind and look down at the lower end of the paddock, near the gateway. His red eyes locked on his targeted mare and the woman talking to the broad as if she were carrying a civilized conversation with it. As his eyes traveled from the horse to the woman, they seemed to glue themselves onto the woman with out Bakura's consent.

She was certainly something even more rare to look at than the sand-colored horse! This woman had chestnut-brown hair that fell down to her shoulders and fair skin that stood out against the tan sand and blue skies behind her. her Egyptian silk cloths hugged her body in two parts- the top covered her breasts as the white and dark blue material wrapped and tucked against her body, hugging her chest securely in a haulter- fasion. He knew her back would be bare, the top only covered just below her breasts in the thicker matieral while a much lighter, see through material covered her arms and stomach. Her low-cut bottom half was nothing much more than a sash that held up two long, wide strips of cloth that covered her front and rear, but left two bare slits going up to the sash at her hips, leaving the creamy white skin bare. He absently wandered if she wore anything else beneath that sash and had to stop his incessant drooling before he did something stupid…

The dark presence with in his spirit perked as the wind blew in from her direction. The beast's influence on his body gave him the ability of heightened senses and allowed him to breath in her scent, the scent of fresh jasmine bath oils and her own indescribable scent that immediately calmed the restless beast inside of him, much to his own surprise. The dark beast seemed to purr at the scent, and urged him closer to the source of that alluring scent that captivated his senses.

With out even realizing it, Bakura stood from the sand and started to approach the beautiful creature that had him so vexed in her alluring spell while the angel seemed engrossed in her interaction with the mare. She never saw him coming until it was too late.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- Oh wow! You guys really do like it ^_^

Acknowledgements:

Missjewels, Vampgirl8, Yuki Kuroneko, angelpray25, mirokulover, cruisegirl, Jess Ishtar, ayame11midori, apricot2516, Jaylene,…. Is that all of you? If I missed someone plz tell me!

All of you get …. Well think of your favorite treat and that's what you get for my thanks ^_^

I just have to say this-

WHOOO HOOO!!! GRADUATION'S MAY 22, 2009!!! I'M OUTTA HIGH SCHOOL FOR GOOD! YEAH BABY!!!!

But then it starts all over again in college…. (sigh) life's not fair…..

Alwell, lmao!

Enjoy the new chappy and tell me what ya think!

-Dessy-san

Chapter Four Beauty and the Thief

'You are very much different than I thought you would be Anzu,' Jazzel admitted, butting her black tipped muzzle to Anzu's chest while the girl scratched her dark-tipped ears (think of Spirit from DreamWorks).

"What did you think I would be?" Anzu asked while her nimble fingers found a sensitive spot just under Jazzels left ear. The mare groaned blissfully and leaned her delicate head into Anzu's expert fingers gratefully.

'For one, I'm glad you're a woman. Males have big heads around here about being the CHOSEN ones to do everything.' Jazzel admitted, 'Having a woman Tamer might humble them a bit now.' The horse nickered a laugh.

Anzu grinned, she had become really taken with the charming mare. Jazzel was the first person… well being that Anzu felt she could completely relax around. She had nothing to prove or defend against the mare and they easily got along like old friends. It was refreshing to find someone like her after all the chaos and confusion that had gone on only just that morning. Jazzel allowed her to unwind before she exploded from mental overload!

"I would have given anything to have this gift back home." Anzu sighed, "I've always loved animal's sooo much, but they always seemed terrified or avoided me at all costs. Only my gold fish seemed to like me, and they'll probably die with out me there to feed them now." Anzu leaned away from rubbing Jazzels ears and rest her back against the fence post behind her, slowly sinking down in the to the sand and embracing her knees to her chest, "Then there's school work and work and the bills and the laundry and Hana and -,"

"You miss your life very much? You said you weren't from here. Are you really from the future?" Jazzel interrupted.

"Probably." Anzu shrugged, "We don't use horses for a mode of transportation anymore where I am from. Or should I say In My Time..,"

"No horses? Do you humans just walk everywhere then?" Jazzel tilted her head curiously, her pale blue eyes the color of cornflower ribbons.

Anzu snorted disdainfully, "Hardly. We have machines and technology to do all our traveling for us while we hitch a ride on them." At Jazzels confused look she elaborated, "A metal horse created from man, if you will. Just much faster, stronger and longer lasting… mostly. They break down a lot if you don't take care of them properly, and they run on gases and oil."

"Gasses?" one of Jazzels ears drifted back while the other stood erect confused.

"Never mind," Anzu shook her head, not wanting to go in depth and just confusing the mare even more.

"Don't you miss these machines of your time? What about family? You never mentioned a family at your home time." Jazzel pressed, wanting to learn more about her new friend.

Anzu looked up to the sky with a distant face, "I have no family any longer waiting for me. Mom and Dad died not so long ago and left me with no relatives or god-parents to care for me. The officials couldn't take me in to adoption because I am already eighteen."

"You're alone…?" Jazzel lowered her head and layed her ears down forlornly, "I am sorry, Anzu, I didn't know. It must have been painful. I know what its like to be abandoned. Master Atem found me near the Nile when I was very young after my mother and heard abandoned me to cross the great river."

"It was and it still is painful, but I try not to think too much about it. If I do that, I don't feel so bad." Anzu replied.

"You can just stay here and have a new family," Jazzel offered.

Anzu gave the mare a 'get-real' look, "I don't belong in this time, Jazzel. I have to get back to my own time,"

"To what? You said so yourself you have nothing tying you down there other than a friend and some goldfish." The mare protested, "I could be part of your new family."

"That's very sweet, Jazzel," Anzu smiled, reaching up to the Mares' soft muzzle and petting it, "but I- what is it?"

Jazzel suddenly jerked her head up and stood tall and alert over Anzu. Her pale blue eyes locked on an intruder on the other side of the fence.

"Well looky here," a man's voice chuckled while Anzu struggled to stand up again and dust her self off of the sand that clung to her, "I come here to retrieve a pharaoh's broad and get not one, but two. Two for the price of one." Anzu looked up to see a man dressed in ragged clothing of a lower-class citizen strolling toward them with an arrogant stride in his step. His red eyes looked down upon her from under silvery-snow colored bangs with a leer that made her feet back up a few steps behind Jazzels protective body while he stopped just on the other side of the fence behind them, leaning on his elbows against the top of the fence with a smirk, "Must be my lucky day, eh?"

"Some how I doubt you're one of the royal stable hands…" Anzu said, working to keep her voice strong, though her heart pounded in fear and she knew she was breaking into a light sweat that wasn't from the sun.

"That you're correct, love," Bakura grinned, "I would rather die than work for the royal family." He shrugged, "I've found a much more…. Productive way of life."

"A homeless harasser of women?" Anzu bit back with out even thinking. This man made the hairs on the back of her neck stand to attention. The last thing she should want to do was agitate him. She didn't think that scar on his check was just for show. He seemed like the type of man that earned their scars…

"The King of Thieves, love." He corrected. At her blank look his smirk faltered, "Bakura, the King of Thieves? The infamous thief who steals from the pharaoh in an endless war of vengeance?"

"Never heard of you…" Anzu said quietly.

Bakura's smirk fell from his tanned face abruptly in shock, but he quickly recovered his wits, "Well, I suppose there really is a first time for everything." He grumbled.

"What are you doing here, again..?" Anzu demanded, "If you've come to gloat that you've successfully stolen some of the pharaoh's treasure to me you're wasting your time. You should leave- NOW." Anzu pointedly jerked her head towards the desert so he would leave that way.

"Oh, I've stolen from the pharaoh's treasure alright, but it's no gold or rubies." Bakura grinned savagely. Every bit the predatory cat playing with his prey just before pouncing on it.

And Anzu seemed like his perfect prey at the moment. She looked delicious enough to eat.

"Steal some relic or something than?" Anzu turned away from him, towards Jazzel, who jerked away suddenly in surprise, startling Anzu to nearly falling back, but two strong arms wrapped around her middle and held her against a solid, well toned chest while sensual lips tickled her ear lobe as Bakura's voice whispered into her ear.

"The new pharaoh's concubine and prized mare are more than enough treasure to satisfy any dark king of thieves." He said sinisterly seductive in her ear in a breathy whisper as he nipped her lobe and tied her wrists behind her back tightly and pulled her over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU BRUTE! I. AM. _NOT!_ HIS. CONCUBINE!!!" she shouted and kicked at him, lashing down at the man as best she could with her being thrown over his shoulder like a pack of potatoes and hands tied behind her back, "PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT YOU BASTARD!"

Bakura growled a warning at her as he jerked his shoulder into her abdomen to threaten her into being calm, but Anzu just flailed about even more in her struggle to get away, "Cut it out, woman or I'll drop you!" Bakura snapped.

"THEN DROP ME! DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID? I SAID PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Anzu roared back into his ear.

Bakura winced and glared back at her in the corner of his eye. He then smirked and smacked her ass with the palm of his hand. She stilled instantly in shock- no one's ever touched her like that before and no one was EVER allowed to either! Not with out her permission and he certainly didn't get that from her! It angered her all the more that it had sent a zing of excitement through her.

"HH-HOW-_DARE_-YOU-YOU-…YOU PIG!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Bakura stopped at the opposite end of the paddock, Jazzel trailing behind them cautiously and worried for Anzu. He tossed Anzu over the fence and then jumped it himself while she landed with a THUMP next to his camel, Ahmed, who seemed not at all surprised to find a kicking and spitting, riled woman struggling at his side from being tossed like fish on deck.

"You're getting so hurtful with your petty insults..," sarcasm dripped from Bakura's voice as he took some cloth from his saddle pack and shoved it in Anzu's mouth when she opened it to start another round of roaring in his ear, "But I grow rather irritated with your scratching at me like a coyote on the verge of death." He tied another leather tether from her linked wrists to Ahmeds saddle horn and then took some more rope and went to fetch Jazzel, not wanting to forget his original target in favor for the spiting cobra he'd found as well.

To Anzu's surprise and frustration, Jazzel put up no fight when Bakura made a make-shift halter over the mare's head and used the extra rope as a lead rope and lead her out the gate and back to the camel with no problem, "You see? Why can't you be more like the filly? She's not trying to rip my head off." Bakura rolled his eyes as he led the mare to the other side of Ahmed to tie off her lead rope to the saddle.

"MMMmmm mmmphh mu phuumph!" Anzu growled through her muffled mouth.

"Not sure I want to hear that or if I really deserved what ever you probably called me..," Bakura glanced at Anzu suspiciously.

Anzu jerked her eyes away, not wanting to look at him, stubbornly. It only made Bakura laugh heartily, "Well this should be an interesting trip home to say the least."

"HHhmmph-phuumph??" Anzu yelped when Bakura's arm wrapped around her thy and lifted her across Ahmeds back. She looked like the kill of a hunt the way she was laying astride his shoulders. Bakura took seat in the saddle behind her and jerked on the reins for the beast to rise.

'Not like weight on shoulders…,' the camel groaned.

Anzu rolled her eyes.

'Are you alright Anzu?' Jazzel nickered softly. Anzu glared at her and the mare fell silent.

Anzu's eyes crossed when Bakura once again reached over her back and wrapped an arm around her waist as best he could in their awkward position on the camels back, "Ahmed doesn't seem to like you putting so much weight on his shoulders." He dragged her back to sitting up right in the saddle in front of him, practically in his lap. She glared back at him, but kept her back stiff as an ironing board and leaned away as much as the high saddle would allow, but Bakura's arms wrapped around her and jerked her back, "You're throwing him off balance leaning forward like that." He spoke in her ear with an admonishing tone.

Anzu stayed very still and refused to move other than what the motions of the camel made her do. Unfortunately, that happened to be that her butt continually stroked against his lap with every lurching sway of Ahmeds step. She looked to the blue heavens above and sent a silent prayer- this was going to be a LOOONG ride.

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"The raiders are becoming an increasing risk the longer we hold out on a full fledged attack!" a muscular general barked in the royal court room, "I say we cease this waiting and strike back! Annihilate the threat while it's still small!"

"These people are not an enemy. The raiders now are our own people along the destroyed villages of the boarder where the REAL threat is. Rome has done little to aid us from the Mongol invaders. We should pay only minimal attention to the glory-seeking raiders and let them blow themselves out. Send our troops to the eastern borders, my liege." Another advisor countered. Unlike the burly soldier that spoke in a snappish tone before him, this advisor was leaner and looked more like a pampered noble than a war advisor, "Prepare for the Mongols while there's still time! Our scouts have already reported that the Mongols are recruiting our enemies to band together against us!"

"You're going to believe that pampered ass's crap?" the general growled, "A kingdom cannot fight off enemies if they have enemies within their own BOARDERS! Send the troops to stop the raids!"

"You fool, do you always seek to put peasants in their place? If we over react to a few rebels that are only striking back in frustration of circumstances we could not help, the whole country will label the new pharaoh cold and uncaring! There'd be more than just a few frustrated rebels to deal with then AND the Mongol threat!"

"Atem already has the favor of the people!" the general spat.

The two squabbled at the floor of the conference while Atem sat upon his deceased fathers' throne. The young royal could almost feel his blood boiling with irritation of the petty fighting the two opposing advisors always seemed to do. He often wandered why his father had allowed them both in the same room at the same time. He mentally made a note to get one, the other or both out of his advisors council once his coronation as the Pharaoh was complete.

He was so irritated with their squabbles that had been going on for … four hours, his fingers drummed on the armrest of his golden throne seat. He couldn't help fidgeting in his seat ever so slightly, holding back the urge to behead the quarreling duo. He felt restless and very irate ever since he and Katsuya had left Anzu in the cell that morning. He'd been easy to infuriate, though his self control kept him from lashing out, it didn't keep him from having violent thoughts…

Such violent thoughts were _not _like him. Atem was a rather calm and solemn spirit. He wasn't quick to anger and didn't have violent thoughts unless he was in battle.

'_What did that woman __**do**__ to me?_' He thought as he shifted in his seat, resting his chin on his left knuckles while his right hand now thrummed irately on the armrest of the throne. He rolled his eyes when he realized the two opposing advisors were still going at it and sighed to try and vent his frustrations.

'_Beheading them sounds really good right now…_' there they were again, violent thoughts….

Seto stood dutifully at Atem's right. His blue eyes watching his new lord from the corner of his eyes and a slight frown tugged at the edges of his mouth. The priest had always felt first hand Atem's frustrations and anger, but the young prince was usually well reserved and never openly showed irritation like this in public. The violet eyed young royal seemed like he was ready to send heads rolling if the two imbeciles didn't shut up- what was bothering Atem? Seto was only half-surprised when he realized that Katsuya was also watching their prince suspiciously.

'_If an idiot can pick up on it, something must really be wrong with the little bastard…_' Seto thought and turned back to the advisors, silently waiting to see if Atem would actually snap and lash out at them.

He didn't have to wait long.

"HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET ALL OF OUR ROYAL TROOPS OUT TO THE BOARDERS IN THREE DAYS? THAT'S NOT HOW THINGS WORK OUT IN THE FIELD DUMBASS, THESE THINGS TAKE TIME!" the burly one raged.

"IT'S BETTER THAN SENDING THEM AT _ONCE_ TO _SLAUGHTER_ OUR OWN COUNTRY MEN!" the other willowy one towered over the stocky muscled one.

"**SILENCE**!" Atem snapped in a rare roar. Every one turned to see their new king with blazing irritated violet orbs full of violence in their depths. No one had ever seen him so riled!

"M-Milord?" the willowy advisor gulped.

"We will NOT be sending our troops anywhere! The _rebels_ are a mere _FOURTY-ONE_ thieves led by a psychopath!" Atem hissed, "And the MONGOLS have targeted Babylonia! Not Egypt- they're by-passing us. It's the Babylonians we need to keep an eye out for, or the Turks, but the MONGOLS have nothing to do with us! You're both fighting over NOTHING!" his voice echoed in the silent hall with all awed and startled attention on himself.

When no one responded as their leader huffed for infuriated breath, Seto stepped up, giving Katsuya a pointed look to tend to their new king, "My brethren, let us all take a break from this… discussion. This time, gather all information you can of the Babylonian army activities. We will regroup three days from now!" he ordered.

The advisors had no qualms for the request and so nodded and were on their way, not wanting to risk becoming the agitated king's venting-target. As the hall emptied, Seto turned sharply on Atem with a raised brow, "Well _that_ went well." He snorted.

"What got you so worked up?" Katsuya approached the young pharaoh to be, "Man, I ain't ever seen you lash out at the old coots like that!"

"I didn't mean to…I-I…," Atem suddenly seemed confused, "I didn't feel like myself just now. Everything seemed to agitate me, and I felt so violent," he confessed, holding up his palm to his forehead and plopping back down unceremoniously back to the cushions on the throne, "Like someone else was feeling that restlessness… it didn't feel like me at all."

Seto's brow rose unconvinced, "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Atem shook his head no, "The only thing I can think of is that woman."

"Woman? What woman? I was under the impression that you didn't take women in your harem. Never seen such an empty harem..," Seto retorted with a snort.

"Not in my HAREM you idiot!" Atem snapped with out thinking, his violet eyes seemed to get a bit lighter, a swirl of gold colored them while the pupils seemed to slit before they widened and returned back to alarmed purple shades, "You see? It just happened again! That wasn't me!"

"Your eyes just turned colors!" Katsuya yelped.

"Has this happened before?" Seto was all seriousness now.

"No, not before today." Atem shook his head, "Not before that woman anyways."

"You keep saying that woman. What woman??" Seto pursued.

"HIS EYES JUST CHANGED!" Katsuya squeaked.

Atem and Seto ignored the blond idiot, "Anzu. Donatello called her the _Tamer_." Atem replied, "That was the same woman Katsuya took me to judge in the dudgeons this morning. When I left her presence, I felt restless inside."

Seto's eyes narrowed, "You're SURE she's the Tamer?"

"I don't know yet. We're holding her under house arrest until tomorrow morning. We're to question her then."

"What's wrong with now?" Seto retorted with a glare.

"Her _arrival_ here was under strange and stressing circumstances. She's exhausted and is in need of a rest before we put a third-degree investigation on her." Atem defended, feeling more than a little offended at how Seto seemed angered that they hadn't forced Anzu for more information immediately.

'_OFF WITH HIS HEAD!_' and there were the violent thoughts again…

"She's a suspicious character that could very well be a criminal or an ENEMY spy and you invite her into your home like a guest and procrastinate her evaluation?" Seto spat back.

"You will _cease_ talking about Anzu in that way!" Atem barked vehemently, Seto noticed that his dark pupils started to slit predatorily again and the color bled from violet purples to golden yellows again.

"What has she done to you…?" Seto replied in an almost whispered voice.

"He kissed her." Katsuya shrugged.

"He WHAT?" Seto turned to Katsuya while Atem's eyes returned full violet again and widened in alarm.

"KATSUYA!" Atem snapped.

"What?" Katsuya blinked, "You did, didn't you? Donatello said it was to help her understand our language and she did!" Katsuya defended himself.

"She didn't understand our language?" Seto turned back to Atem, the white granite floors reflecting his stiff stance.

"She spoke a different language when we first saw her." Atem admitted.

"Gibberish or somthin." Katsuya chimed in.

"Then Donatello said that her _power _is the ability of a thousand tongues." Atem continued, "She can talk to animals, Saladin seems very taken with her."

"And she can only understand animals once they instinctively recognize her for what she is. To understand human languages, hers or their lips have to touch one another- Donatello said it didn't matter where or which one of them does it, but so long as there's that intimate contact, then she's able to talk to them fluently." Katsuya once again butted in.

Seto's eyes narrowed, "Is that all the Roman Seer told you?" he inquired.

Atem and Katsuya turned to one another then back to Seto, each nodding their head in affirmatives.

"You're both fools!" Seto slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead, "Complete and utter fools!"

"What? What is it?" Katsuya quickly asked, "Hey! I'M NO FOOL!"

"More a fool now than ever!" Seto retorted.

"You know, this is why you never have any REAL friends," Katsuya barked back.

"If this woman really is the Tamer and Atem is having this kind of reaction to the loss of her presence, Atem is possessed by a great beast spirit- someone has released the three beast gods of the Temple of Beasts and one of the spirits has taken residence with in Atem." Seto growled in frustration, "That Tamer was sent here by the gods to ensure that the beasts that have been released would stay sane and not go on a rampage from being locked up for thousands of years!"

"You're saying that a pissed off god is inside of Atem..?" Katsuya looked Atem over, "Have you been sniffing that powder we confiscated from prisoners of war or somethin?" he sputtered as if it were all a joke, "ATEM? Possessed by a DEMON GOD?"

"Beast God" Atem corrected with a gulp of realization.

"What ever! Doesn't make it any more believable. Who would set free the three Beast Gods?" Katsuya harked.

"…..Yes, whom indeed." Seto mused, "It seems that we have found our center to our inner-and-possibly-outer boarder problems. Whoever released the beast's must have known that one of them must take the body of a royal- Atem is the only surviving Royal."

"Where are the other two?" Katsuya's golden brows rose.

"One seeks out power and the other seeks out lust." Seto said.

"Oh, well that narrows it down to ALL OF EGYPT!" Katsuya snapped, "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?"

"Use that Tamer woman to track them down and keep them and Atem nearby her until we can prepare the ceremony to reseal the beasts away."

"How long is that exactly?" Atem demanded.

"…Five years." Seto sighed.

"FIVE YEARS???" Katsuya rolled his eyes to the heavens, "We're dead. We're sooo dead! We can't keep three BEAST GODS calmed down and sane for five freakn years!"

"With the presence of the Tamer we can." Seto retorted, "We can't start preparations for the ceremony until all three Gods are safely under taps of the Beast Tamer herself,"

"Then we'll gather the others immediately." Atem said determinedly and turned to a guard posted at the doorway, "Bring me Anzu at once." He ordered.

"You highness," the soldier bowed and was about to leave when Shizuka burst into the doorway.

"KATSUYA!! OH, BIG BROTHER, IT'S HORRIBLE!" she cried out as she ran into her elder brother's arms. Katsuya was taken aback- he thought his little sister was with Anzu again, since she calmed down Mai enough from their fight that he was able to make up with his fiancé he had sent his baby sister on her way, but now she was back with out Anzu??

"What's wrong sis?" Katsuya's hands grasped her shoulders and held her away from him so he could see her face, "Did some dumbass try and feel you up again? If someone did, tell me who the bastard is so I can kick his little-,"

"It's Anzu! She's gone!" Shizuka sniveled, "I searched everywhere for her, but she's gone!"

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"Is this really necessary?" Anzu huffed on the back of the camel's hump. Ahmed was inclined in the sand with Anzu sitting upon his back sideways. Her hands were still bound behind her, but she was now wrapped around in itchy-camel fur clocks that made her want to bite her arms off because the non-stop itching sensation it caused when it rubbed against her exposed skin.

Bakura had made sure to hide all parts of her body other than her eyes so she could see. She could barely breathe as it was! The fur was suffocating and irritating! Who _wore _this in the middle of the desert?!

"More than necessary." Bakura quipped, "Now quit your fidgeting, your hair keeps escaping the wrap." He moved behind her to tuck in the stray hairs while she fumed.

"And WHY do I need this?" She snarled back, wriggling on purpose to make more strands of her brown chestnut hair slip free from its confines of the brown camel-hair wrap.

Bakura's jaw twitched in irritation until finally he had had enough. Quicker than Anzu could anticipate, Bakura's hand latched on to the back of her throat from where he stood behind her. His fingers lightly securing themselves on her neck around the nape, holding gently, but with enough force that threatened to contract if she struggled. Anzu instinctively sat very still on Ahmeds back while the camel chewed something she didn't even want to know that was in his mouth as nonchalant or oblivious as ever.

Bakura lightly guided Anzu by her neck to lean back a little while he leaned forward, letting his lips edge near her right ear while his other free hand ran his fingers through her now freed hair and combed it back behind her ear before he spoke in a low whisper that shot warning signals up her spine with electric spurts.

"Because, love." He smirked, "We're going into a camp of Forty-one Thieves. There are women and children there, mind you, but the men would not think twice about ravishing an exotically rare woman if she waltzed in dressed in the Pharaoh's harem attire." His smirk broadened as he felt her spine stiffen under his grip, "Still not wanting to use the wrap as a cover?" he taunted.

Anzu shoved him off her and snatched the excess head wrap that had fallen from her when she wriggled it off. She then re-wrapped herself with jerky movements, doing only half-as-well a job as Bakura had done covering her.

He chuckled at the sight of her. Only one eye was visible, her nose poked out and her hair looked like it was growing from inside the wrap. It stuck out in small crevices in puffs of brown, making her look more like a covered up leper than what he was aiming for.

"Not quite what I had in mind…," Bakura leaned over her again and rewrapped her head wrap properly, concealing all but her eyes on her face. He then tugged the camel cloak's deep hood over her head and stepped back to look at her, "Better. Now you don't look like a leper."

"Then what do I look like?" her voice was slightly muffled under the wrap that lightly covered her mouth. He made sure to make it looser there so air could get in to her.

Bakura smirked, "You'll see soon enough. Just follow my lead and nothing should go wrong."

"Says the thief taking me to Fort-one thieves in their layer. You're tossing a lamb to the wolves, you know." She retorted.

"Yes, but one wolf will snap at the others to keep their distance from the lamb." He replied, gathering up Jazel's lead from where he had let the mare wander off to pick at what little vegetation she could find in the desert. He then tied her lead off on Ahmed again, swung his leg over the camels back to mount his animal and slid the sideways sitting Anzu into his lap with a grin of triumph. In this position, Anzu couldn't lean forward to stay off his lap. The saddle just wasn't built for two people riding like this with out one sitting on the other.

"And which wolf would that be?" her voice seemed a bit smaller he noted.

"Yours truly," he replied, glancing down at himself to emphasize as his arms wrapped around her to steer Ahmed and tugged her back into him more, "Comfortable?" he taunted, not missing the way her pale skin blossomed a pretty cherry color. He had seen many women blush, but with pale skin it seemed to contrast more and became even more fascinating to him every time he managed to get that kind of reaction out of Anzu. It just made him want to do it more!

"Like you don't know." She grunted back.

"I'm not complaining." He shrugged, "What man would complain to having a soft woman sitting on his lap during a _grinding _camel ride?" he grinned perversely at his own pun.

Anzu scoffed, "You impudent pig!" she yelped, smacking his shoulder while he laughed it up. Tears nearly fell from his eyes he was laughing so hard while he continued to tease her.

'Anzu? Are you alright?' Jazzel whinnied from Ahmed's side where she trotted along side them. Her strides were much smaller than Ahmed's long-legged steps so the mare had to work a bit harder to keep up, especially in the sands, 'Your face is turning colors. That usually means a human is sick. Are you sick, Anzu?' the worried mare inquired anxiously.

"I'm fine…," Anzu huffed.

"S'cuse me?" Bakura looked down at her with a raised brow.

"Wasn't talk'n to you." she growled and forcefully jerked her face away from him so she didn't have to see him… didn't have to smell him…. or feel him or-

'_Damn it! First that infuriating Princey-guy, now this stupid perverted Thief! What's gotten into me lately? A slut's brain??_' she mentally chastised herself.

Bakura's brown-autumn-reddish eyes watched over the girl curiously. She had said she wasn't talking to him, but who else could she have spoken to? The only others with them were a camel and a mare.

'_Schizophrenic maybe?_' he thought.

Ra forbid that he found another psychotic woman. He'd had enough of those. They were nothing but trouble and tended to be clingy, needy, whiny and just about every other unpleasant adjective he could think of. The only thing they were god for was a good fuck session to get stress off Bakura's back. Stress and the life of thief didn't mix well. It brought down confidence and confidence was the main component to the success of notorious thief.

So far, Anzu had proven to be more than her fair share of infuriating flame of rebellion- which was rare in women, but she wasn't anything like the whores he tended to fall in bed with every night. She was more… more…

Bakura couldn't decide on a word- there were too many and yet too little words to describe her. She was Anzu and that was all he could describe her as with words. He knew that she made him feel relaxed and calm again like he once was. She didn't pressure him to impress her, nor did she have a sword at his throat demanding his life- more or less. She was easy to be near and enjoy her presence. That was Anzu.

Bakura had to admit, he was a bit selfish when he decided to cover the girl in his lap up. He knew that if he was this well taken with her just by sight, his men would be scrambling over one another just too look at her. The thought that so many men would be vying after her attention didn't sit well with him. She would also be distracted from him too, and that was simply unacceptable. Bakura was very possessive with his treasures and while he did split his pillages evenly with his men when he had a successful raid with them- Anzu wouldn't be shared. Not at all if he could help it.

His arms tightened around Anzu's waist a bit, unconsciously moving higher on her abdomen until the tops of his forearms brushed the undersides of her breasts. Anzu stiffened.

"Do.. Do you need to guide your camel so accurately?" she stammered.

"He'll wander off the path if I don't." he replied half-heartedly. His mind off in a different place.

'_**What**__ path?!'_ all Anzu saw was miles and miles of sand… sand, sand, sand, and even more sand. It was literally a sea… no an OCEAN of sand.

She felt stupid for when she used to play in the sand box as a child in the park. It seemed so meaningless after coming into a desert.

"H-How much longer until we reach the camp?" she bit her lip and struggled to stay still, but the light brush of his arms under her breasts were starting to forge foreign sensations in her lower stomach.

"Not much longer. You should be seeing it soon as we crest the top of this dune." He answered her. His voice still holding the far off tone, but this time it was tinged with a negative emotion. Something akin to irritation.

What was _he_ irritated about? Did he lie to her when he said her body was soft to sit against? Was he uncomfortable from her weight sitting on his lap for so long in a tiny camel's saddle?

'_That's __**his**__ problem!_' she thought with a huff.

Soon as they crested the dune, Anzu could see a setup of many tents- she guessed around fifty to one-hundred- they were seemingly strategically placed in circle. She could see women and children in the middle of the set up while rougher looking men sat outside of their tents in the outer circle in the setting sunlight. Twilight had begun and the moon shared the sky with the sun in a mysterious way it did during twilight. She noticed that there were only a few camels like the one Bakura had kidnapped her with, but many horses were tethered to in-ground posts that held them securely outside of tents- probably their owners tents.

She wasn't expecting something so… human. The lair of forty-one thieves had laughter in the air, children's squeals of delight and barking dogs all around. It felt like a happy atmosphere here, not hostile at all. Anzu's head pivoted all around to take in the sights while Bakura guided Ahmed and Jazzel through the many tents of his caravan.

Maybe being kidnapped and held ransom by this thief wouldn't be so bad. Anzu could only hope his leader was as… well yes, as _generous _as Bakura had been.

'_Though he can hardly be described as __**generous.**_**' **Anzu thought.

"Lord Bakura! You have returned!" an elderly woman greeted them with a wave of her hand as Bakura's camel passed.

"Aijasah," Bakura called out with a nod to the elder woman.

"Master Bakura!" some young men called, waving enthusiastically to the white haired man, "Were you successful against the Pharaoh?"

Anzu looked over shoulder suspiciously at Bakura. Apparently the head honcho around here WAS Bakura. He didn't have to answer to anybody, but ran this place. He HAD said that he was the Thief KING before, hadn't he? She should have known that he was the leader of this caravan as well, if it weren't for the way they all fawned over him as he seemed to 'return from a good raid'.

Bakura smirked, "I am always successful against the bastard. You can see the slave and the mare, right?"

"Is that the pharaohs favored mare? The one they call Jazzel?" another middle aged man stepped out of his tent to watch in wander as the mare passed by, being lead behind Ahmed's right flank.

"Of course she is." Bakura seemed to preen in the wondered awe of the people that started to crowd around. He tugged Anzu against him unexpectedly, "And I've got the new pharaohs slave as well for a bit of a ransom price." He grinned.

"We're going to be rich!" a young boy jumped in the air excitedly as he and many other children started to clamor about Ahmed's feet. Still the camel didn't seem to care as he walked on through the city of tents.

"Master Bakura, are you going to be visiting tonight?" a sultry woman dressed in such a revealing outfit, Anzu turned away with a blush, "We've been so lonely with out you these past few days. Hasamu told us that you fell ill after your last raid and couldn't have company, are you feeling any better?"

"Can _we _do anything to make you _feel better_?" another sultry vixen woman husked as she leaned against Bakura's leg on Ahmeds side.

Anzu felt a sting of anger suddenly, but kicked it down. There was no need to get jealous over her captor…. Especially a womanizer like this particular captor seemed to be judging from the way the young women crowded at their tent doors, calling out to him with love-sick words and sultry requests for another nightly visit tonight. It was enough to make Anzu regret thinking that being held captive here wouldn't be so bad.

"I'll see to you, my ladies, soon enough." Bakura promised coolly, "However I have a new puppy to break in and tent-train before I can play tonight." He said, flexing his arm around Anzu tauntingly.

Anzu stubbornly kept her mouth shut, refusing to make a sound while Bakura guided Ahmed to head for a much larger tent that was set apart from the rest.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- Sorry its been so long, but as of the 22nd of May, I became a highschool graduate! I also have started a job and had been getting ready for a big move to college back in my home-state! I'm sooo excited! Things should pick up again around June 20th. That's when I get a better laptop for school and will not have to fight over a desktop computer with my siblings.

GO CLASS OF '09!

Acknowledgements:

kabusakuGirl, AnzuIsNotACheerleader! (no she's not! Lol), sakura911, Kiri-chan220, pride1289, lunamirrior, mirokulover, Yuki Kuroneko, ayame11midori…. (did I miss anyone who reviewed chapter 4?)

Special note- Yes, Bakura, Atem, and Malik will seem a bit out of character, but its because of the influence of the beast gods that they act slightly different around Anzu. With out her around, they are irritable and generally bad-tempered. Around her they are possessive, obsessive and generally primal. Lol!

ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter Five Ground Rules

"My lord, please think of what you're doing!" Seto demanded as he and the others tailed the furious pharaoh down to the stables, "She is just but a girl! Why are you setting yourself up for assassination?" he demanded.

"Anzu is lost and I intend to retrieve her myself! I'll not let any more staff take care of my Beast Tamer and have her getting lost AGAIN!" the pharaohs voice was gravely and deep, more so than usual. His violet eyes were fading to angered topaz again as he strode down the stalls to the round pin at the end where Judas awaited curiously.

"But sire, your coronation!" an older advisor piped in, "The Coronation is TONIGHT!"

Atem whirled on the man, anger blazing in his rapidly changing eyes as his canines sharpened monstrously, very much vamperic, "Then _delay_ the fucking coronation!" he snapped, shocking everyone with the seldom curse he vehemently hissed at the startled advisor.

Acting as the wise man he was, the elder advisor wisely stepped back and fell silent in the heat of his lord's wrath while Atem turned sharply again, snatching the bridal hanging on the latch of Judas's round pin gate and opening the said gate to retrieve his faithful steed. The stallion seemed to be the only faithful one to him at the moment…

"Atem…," Katsuya pleaded, "Let Honda and I go after Anzu, we will retrieve her for you and I promise there won't be a scratch on the wench!"

"Stay out of this Katsuya." Atem swiftly switched the stallions halter for his golden bridle as the great equine arched his thick neck and lowered his head obediently over Atems shoulder. Once secured, Atem gathered up the reins and bounced lightly on one foot, proceeding to launch his right leg over Judas's left shoulder and sat astride his ready stallion bare-back. The taunt muscles rippled under Atem as Judas shifted restlessly, sensing his masters' urgency as Atem guided the stallion out of the pin and down the stalls at an easy trot, by passing protesting attendants. As they passed by Jazzels empty stall, Atem tugged Judas to a pause, "Where's Jazzel?"

"She was taken too, Sire," a stable hand gulped.

Atem cursed, "I now know who took Anzu… that bastard of a thief- the one father always had problems with! BAKURA!" he snarled the name as if it were poison on his tongue as he dug his heels into Judas's sides. The black stallion reared and bolted from under Atem, galloping at top speeds through the sands and kicking up a dust trail in his wake as they headed for the closest bridge across the Nile and into the desert twilight that faded into a navy blue night sky with a full moon lighting the way of the pharaoh.

Katsuya and the others were left calling in protest after them, helpless.

"He's going to get himself killed before ever receiving the title of Pharaoh." Seto scoffed, "He's a fool to waste his life on some woman!"

"That WOMAN happens to be the BEAST TAMER!" Shizuka barked back in defense of Anzu. Her sudden out burst startled Kaiba into stepping back while she jabbed him with her finger, "Anzu Mazaki is worth ANYTHING!"

"Is she WORTH risking our entire KINGDOM?" Seto retorted.

"The KINGDOM will _fall_ with out her! What if the three beast gods really are resurrected?" she bit back.

"THEY **ARE** RESURECTED!" Seto barked with a dark snarl, startling the horses.

"If you'd stop yelling at my baby sister, you'll take this broad I'm handing to you and help me get the Foolish Pharaoh back!" Katsuya shouted snapped harshly, gaining Seto's reluctant attention. The blond haired man was holding out a fist with the reins of one of the prancing imperial stallions ready and tacked for Seto.

"I will NOT go out and retrieve an idiot from the desert. Let him suffer sunburn for all I care." Seto huffed.

"Wasn't it YOU who said we need to keep him HERE?" Shizuka rolled her eyes, "Besides, if Atem is killed who will take the blame? You could have went after him but decided that our up and coming _Pharaoh_ could use a little sunburn rather than a rescue from his noble deeds." Her brown eyes pinned Seto, making the older man stiffen, but he refused to lose ground to a chamber maid… Katsuya's sister no less.

Seto glared at her and snatched the reins out of Katsuya's fist, "I'm a far better rider than you anyways." He relented…. Sort of.

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"Dinner?" Bakura offered to Anzu a platter of solid gold with fresh fruits, bread slices, and chunks of fresh lamb meat on it from where he sat close to her side.

She looked down on it disdainfully, "Its poisoned isn't it?"

"Poisoned?" Bakura laughed in her face, "No, why would it be _poisoned_ after I took all the trouble just to get you out here to hold you as a ransom?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, "It's not completely unheard of to hold a _dead_ person as a ransom." She shot back, drinking from her goblet of water she herself had dipped from the makeshift well water.

"Don't have to worry about that, Ms.," the blind, albino boy Anzu had learned as Hasamu said from across the small, low set table, "Brother Bakura would never kill a woman unless she deserved it."

"Deserved it, huh?" Anzu arched a suspicious brow at the white haired man at her side, leaning once again away from him to try and keep up some semblance of personal space.

"You haven't earned the right to die by my blade yet, sweet heart." His grin burned to a perverse one, "Not by my steel blade, anyways…"

"Pig…" Anzu scoffed, but otherwise ignored him. With in the last sixteen hours of being forced at his side, she'd come to realize that this man was ninety-percent a perverted man. A very out-spoken, well respected- pervert. The worst kind.

And he was _King_ of Forty-One Thieves. That just made the whole picture complete, didn't it! She went from a Pharaoh of Egypt to a King of _Thieves_!

'_This just __**screams **__Aladdin… At least he's hot,_' there were those unwanted thoughts AGAIN! Where were they coming from this time!

"A pig I may be, love, but I am a rather happy pig to be squealin about with a pussy like you." he grinned.

Anzu rolled her eyes, "Dear god, tell me your drunk."

"He's a bit tipsy. He usually smells a lot worse when he's drunk." Hasamu replied as if this happened all the time.

She didn't doubt it did.

"I am not _tipsy_ boy!" Bakura slurred a bit, "I am merely… enjoying a wonderful buzz… and the tent keeps turning with out my says so!" the white haired man growled, "I SAY TO YOU TENT, STOP YOUR SPINING AND STOP IT NOW!" he demanded.

"Now he's drunk." Hasamu said as Bakura chugged down another bottle of red whine, "He stinks terribly." The boy scrunched his nose with a playful grin.

Anzu discretely tried to shift away from Bakura as he used her as leverage to pull himself up from falling on his back, "Hold still love," he slurred, his hand that finally grasped her shoulder just missed groping her breast.

"Not on your life." Anzu growled, taking him by the wrists to stop him from touching her inappropriately, "Stop touching me! You're already righted up again!"

"But the room keeps spinning and you're so soft love," he whined, "I know, how about we go to bed now?" he leaned back with his palms bracing behind him when she shoved his hands off her with a wide grin plastered to his slightly drunken-flushed face.

"Bed? Bed sounds good, you could use the rest." She said, completely missing the point while she took his offered hand and pulled it over her shoulder to help steady him while he attempted to walk to his bed towards the back of the tent. She didn't notice his drunken grin morphing to a lopsided smirk while his ruby eyes drank her in from his vantage point.

"Alright, bed it is. You go first and get undressed, I'll jump in when you say go!" he replied as his words became even more slurred and the arm draped over her shoulder flexed around her suggestively.

Was he _that _WASTED??

"BAKURA!" Anzu snapped, "I MEANT ACTUAL _BED_ FOR SLEEPING!"

"And we WILL be sleee…sleeping." He frowned at his own tongue when it refused to work properly for proper speech, "Afffter you n I get a biiit… sweaty." He grinned.

"I AM NOT sleeping with you," Anzu stubbornly shoved him down from leaning on her with a scowl on her pretty face. He flopped into the dozens of pillows that made his bed, laughing like an idiot. She was just too much fun for him to poke at- both figuratively and physically might he add.

"Oh come on, there's just but one bed and two adults here, I'm sure we can… work somthin out?" he waggled his stardust eyebrows lecherously.

"NO. No and defiantly not." Anzu rolled her eyes, "What happened to Hasamu anyways? Where does he sleep?"

"Hassssaahhmuu?" Bakura leaned up on his elbows, "Probably hissss own tent."

"So we're alone in here."

"Yup," he popped the 'p' liking the way it sounded in his drunken state.

"Just me and you?"

"Yep"

"And you're drunk??" her hackles rose in alarm.

"Now I am!" he grinned up at her like the devil of the hells.

"Look," Anzu rubbed the palm of her hand over her face in frustration, "You just… STAY in that bed and I'll take a few pillows and sleep waaaay over here. Okay?" she snagged a pillow and started to walk around the bed to get to the furthest end of the tent.

"Where you go'n?" Bakura's hand reached out and snagged Anzu's ankle, tugging back and then using his other hand to palm her ass so she'd fall on her back in surprise. She fell right into his stomach on the bed, "Ello love." He grinned at her, enjoying every minute of her humiliation.

Anzu's eyes flamed angrily at him as she slapped his hands away, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" she hissed bolting right up and keeping her distance.

Bakura sat up, bracing his elbow to prop up on the bed sideways and watched her as Anzu scuttled away from him. He noticed she was actually terrified of physical contact with him. She wasn't playing the coy-virgin most women he had had did before he rutted with them. She was an _actual_ virgin who was _actually_ terrified of intimately touching a man!

He was bewildered! He couldn't remember the last time he'd met someone so beautiful be so anxious about sharing a bed with him!

…Oh, wait, that's why- because it's never happened before.

"Don't tell me you've never shared pleasures with a man before," he honestly asked. As she pointedly turned away from him and stiffly set up the pillows and blankets she'd commandeered from his bed he smirked, "You haven't, have you!" this was better than stealing gold from the pharaoh and getting away with it!

"That's really none of your concern," she huffed, but as she turned ever so slightly, he noticed a dusting of red on her cheeks. He was now preening like a cat who was about to lazily capture the broken-winged canary.

"Really, now?" he purred.

"Why are you even interested? Go play with one of your little whores." She gritted her teeth as she snapped the blanket in the air to let it fall into place over her makeshift pallet.

"Now why would I go and do that?" he asked leisurely.

Anzu paused and turned to look at him over her shoulder with narrowed sapphire eyes filled with dark-mirth, "Please, even I can tell just by having to be near you for the past… eighteen hours that you're a horny man that never goes with out for more than a day. You better look somewhere else, bud, because you're not getting anything outta me!"

"Bud?" he tilt his head curiously, "I am not called Bud."

"Of course, out of all that you only hear BUD!" she rolled her eyes to the heavens and shimmied down under the light covers of her pallet on the floor, closer to the door of the tent and opposite of his own bed.

Bakura laughed, "Never have I met a woman like you, Anzu." He chuckled.

"Take a picture." She grumbled.

Bakura sat up again, instantly curious about the new word, "A what?"

Anzu sighed forlornly, "Never mind, just get some sleep, will you?"

Bakura laid back down in his bed, "You're sure you don't want to come over here away from the door? A night crawler could get in and it tends to get a bit cold out sometimes." He taunted.

"I'll be just fine away from the large night crawler in your bed- YOU." She snapped tiredly.

Bakura laughed lightly at her, but let her be as they both eventually drifted off to sleep.

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"I see a caravan not far off," the young woman reassured atop her camel to the two men that trailed behind her on their own beasts of burden, "Can you hold on a little longer, Malik?"

"The beast feels like its clawing at my insides, sister." The young man called Malik hissed as one hand held onto the camels reins while the other arm curled around his stomach, "It feels like its pulling at me"

"It is seeking the Tamer." His elder sister said, "Obelisk seeks the Tamer of this time to soothe its rage."

"But we have no records of the Tamer being born in this life, sister Ishizu," Rashid said as he pulled his camel closer to Maliks to help the boy in whatever way he could, but there was very little anyone could do other than the Tamer to soothe the Beast God with in Maliks spirit.

"Not in this time, brother." Ishizu nodded in agreement, but my necklace says otherwise. I had a vision of a woman not from this land who was talking to the pharaoh's great cat, Saladin. The tamer has the gift of a thousand tongues with both man and beast. I believe it is _she_ that Malik's beast is drawn to."

"Then why is there such rage with it?" Malik bit out, "It's making my blood pump in rage, it's so furious!"

Ishizu and Rashid shared a worried look before Ishizu urged her camel to lead on towards the caravan once more, "Then that means the Tamer has already come into contact with one of the other Beast Gods or they are nearby." She smiled good naturedly back at her little brother's violet eyes that her half-lidded with strain to control the raging spirit inside him, "Obelisk is _jealous_." She grinned.

Malik muttered something along the lines of 'Stupid Beast Gods' under his breath as he and Rashid urged their own camels to catch up with Ishizu's.

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Atem felt Judas slowing as the night wore on and pulled the stallion to a walk, feeling guilty for pushing him so hard for so long. He loosened the reins to give the dark beast his head which Judas took gratefully. The great beast hung his head and stretched out his neck with a low groan and then continued to heave in and out with his lungs for his next breath of oxygen.

"Sorry about that, Jude," Atem rubbed the stallions neck to soothe him as they walked. The young Prince of Egypt took the time to survey his surroundings. There was no sign of Anzu and Jazzel or their captor. No trail left behind in the sands that usually betrayed fugitives tracks. He felt a sting of anxiety as he looked up to the high moon; he had been searching for hours and had yet to find a solid trail other than into the desert, but that was like saying into the water when the water was the ocean.

Atem sighed. He could feel his body succumbing to fatigue from lack of rest but he wouldn't allow himself to stop until he found Anzu and was sure she was alright. Something deep with in him paced restless and snapped its jaws like a vicious beast with in him ever since he learned of the potential danger Anzu was facing.

Judas stopped abruptly on the crest of a sand dune and raised his head high, watching silently for something that he sensed behind them. Atem had long ago put his trust in the war stallions instincts and followed his lead- looking behind them as well. A small dust cloud was being kicked up by two riders concealed in the concealing cloud, but Judas didn't squeal an angry challenge as he would have if he did not recognize the other horses. They were either stolen royal steeds or he had a few tagalongs.

Judas's ears perked when a piercing whinny called out to him from the approaching horses and he answered it in kind with his low whinny, now shifting excitedly underneath Atem. There was no doubt in Atems mind that he and Judas were not in danger. Judas is suspicious on the field away from home and did not whinny or call out unless he knew the other horses that approached him. As he waited for the other riders, Atem recognized Katsuya and Seto. He wasn't surprised to find that Katsuya had followed him, but Seto was another story.

Katsuya reined in his golden stallion to a slow halt near Judas and Atem, looking just as out of breath as the stallion beneath him. Seto and his own bay stallion were more graceful in their halt as he let the horse ease down its rapid gait more fluidly than Katsuya's slow slide in the sand. He seemed only minor disheveled as he glared at Atem with irritation.

"You really must have been born stupid." Seto snorted.

"Yet here you are, following me." Atem retorted coolly, but Seto ignored him.

"Just what do you hope to get done by chasing a horse thief out into the desert in the middle of the night?" Katsuya demanded.

"I cannot wait idly just for some burning sunlight to light my way. I _will_ find her!" Atem didn't mean for his tone to sharpen in his voice, but the beast inside him was agitated with the hold up.

"That's not you talking, that's the beast inside you." Seto admonished, "She will be in the same state now as she is in the morning-stolen. If you let the beast win you over now, there will be no way to control it later on."

"Then what would you have me do, Seto?!" Atem growled, "Let an innocent girl remain in the grasps of an unknown man that could very well be out to _rape_ her for longer than needed?"

"He will have been too tired from wrangling both her and the mare all the way across the desert to do much. You're worthless to her if you cant fight the man off her because you're too fatigued." Seto dismounted his bay stallion swiftly, "We'll rest here for a few hours until dawn; then we will search again. Besides, you'll end up running your precious war stallion to his death by pushing him so hard."

Atem felt guilty yet again for pushing Judas. He turned to Katsuya for the Head of Security's opinion.

"I could use a good nap…," Katsuya yawned, "You weren't exactly trotting back there."

With a reluctant sigh, Atem glanced at Seto who was taking some wood out of his saddle pack to start a fire. Seeing no better alternative that didn't involve pushing someone over their limits of exhaustion, Atem dismounted and stiffly prepared his bed roll for sleeping, but even as he and the others lay under the stars finally settled in a hour later, Atem felt restless and bothered.

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Bakura groaned as he slowly awoke, a very persistent ache pulsed in his lower abdomen and his bladder felt full- overly so. Muttering under his breath incoherently he kicked off what blankets still covered him and rolled to his feet from his soft-pillowy bed that sat low to the ground. As he stood up he stretched out his back and flexed his arms, groggily making his way to the door of his tent. He paused a moment when he remembered his captive that slept close to the entryway. As he held open the flap of the tent, he took the time to look her over discretely. The blankets had fallen down to wrap around her waist as she lay on her side, her chest moving evenly up and down in her deep slumber. She looked exhausted from the way she was carelessly laying on her pallet. Her hair was barely out of place- she hadn't moved around much in sleep and had probably went under soon as her head hit the pillow. Bakura noticed with amused pleasure that with her sleeping on her side, her breasts were pushed together and were easily seen from the top of her scanty top meant for a pharaoh's concubine. The old ragged cloak he'd hidden her body with lightly wrapped around her torso and she held the end of it in one hand like a child held their security blanket as they slept.

But Bakura wasn't looking at the cloak, nor did he hardly notice it. His dark autumn red-chocolate eyes were locked on the swells of her breasts as she rolled onto her back, exposing them more. The neck of her top had shifted so much in her sleep that he was sure that if he just moved it a bit more he'd catch a glimpse of….

His bladder promptly reminded him that this was no time to get a hard-on. It was already full.

Bakura bit his lip and resisted the urge to cover his groin like a child and do the _pee-pee_ dance. He quickly escaped his tent with the ivory goddess sleeping in it and made his way to the 'relieving-area' of camp. Once relieved of the agonizing pressure in his bladder, Bakura made his way leisurely back to his tent, in no hurry to retreat from the oddly pleasant desert night. The wind breezed over him, playing with the ends of his white hair that shined silver with the moonlight.

He stood for a moment beside his tent, looking back at his caravan of his people he protected: this was paradise. This was freedom. There were no laws to answer to other than the law of the desert to survive. There was no one to answer to, no one to lock you up for having some nasty-bouts…

Bakura took in a deep breath and sighed it out content as he ducked into the flap of his tent, alarmed when something with in him ran cold with anxiety then ran hot in rage. A hissing with in his tent set the thief on guard. On a deadly serpent made that noise… his red eyes darted around the confines of the tent sharply, taking in everything to pinpoint the intruder and then his heart stopped when they landed right by the door way…

A king cobra was slithering next to Anzu's unconscious body. Its forked tongue curiously tasting the air. It was well with in striking range to any vital part of her body, but it didn't seem aggressive toward her. Its hood stayed down as it merely nosed around her curiously, but that didn't mean it wouldn't sink its deadly fangs into her flesh.

Bakura's eyes flashed a dark golden color as he felt his blood boil and something with in him snarl- that … the condition was back…

His senses cleared and sharpened and he felt his muscles coil as he stayed very still near Anzu's head, not wanting to alarm the intruder as he slowly lowered himself to a crouch near her.

The King Cobra caught his movements when he started to stretch his body over Anzu's and he froze while the serpent forked its tongue out at him and hissed. Sensing the threat, the snake reared back and opened its hood, coiling back with the threat to strike as it swayed, but Bakura was faster than the snake. His hand stunned the little heathen as he suddenly had his fist tightly around its hood, just below the head. The snake tried to bite its fangs into him, but its jaw was unable to bend that way.

Bakura's eyes narrowed on the snake as they flashed dark gold again, a low beast-like growl rumbled in his throat and the snake stilled in fear. With a twitch of his fist, Bakura closed his grasp on the snakes neck, snapping the spine and threw its limp body out of his tent with a snarl. He gnashed his teeth as his now golden eyes surveyed the rest of his tent, senses on high alert for any other dangers. When he found none, his gold eyes looked down to the woman underneath him as she sighed in her sleep and shifted to lay on her other side, unaware that she was in any sort of danger.

Her gentle scent filled his nostrils and instantly calmed the beast with in. golden eyes gave way to ruby and Bakura slowly felt like he was coming down from a high. His senses were still hyper, but not as much as just before when he felt like his body had been taken from him. He shook his head to snap himself out of it.

'_It happened again, but this time…,_' he looked down at his hands braced on either side of Anzu's abdomen as he faced her legs while she faced his groin under him, '_no blood…_'

Last time the beast had come out, it had used him to attack one of his men that had agitated him with his drunken rowdiness. He was just a vent for its thousands of years old rage from being locked inside the tomb with its rivals. Slyfer the Sky Dragon was known for being particularly hostile towards its rivals and any threats, or at least that's what the legends said. The Wing Dragon of Ra was the more reserved out of the three while Obelisk the Tormentor had no patients whatsoever and used pain as its way of getting what it wanted. Bakura could only pray to the gods that he had been taken by Slyfer's spirit and not Obelisk. He didn't fancy the idea of having the beast cause his body pain just because it was bored…

He looked down under him to the girl that lay asleep, puzzled. Slyfer had acted on its own, taking influence of his own body and using it to protect her from a curious cobra, killing it, and then the Sky Dragon had receded with in him content soon as it caught her scent…

Did the dragon fancy Anzu? Or was it something else…?

Bakura grinned softly for once, '_Looks like I've caught something more valuable than I thought.._'

Anzu groaned again, turning to roll over once more in her sleep. Bakura sucked in a sharp hiss as her face ended up very close to his exposed thigh…

And now that his bladder was free, the hard-on returned in full force, all pulsing agony of it- just to torment him. Bakura couldn't remember the last time he got that exited over a SLEEPING woman… he couldn't decide whether to move away from her and calm down or shift closer to her just to feel those soft lips on his skin…

Bakura gulped- THAT train of thought wasn't helping anything…

He shifted back and away from her, sitting back on his heels above her head once again and looking down at her innocently slumbering form and then to the flap of a door with a frown. If one cobra got in tonight, whose to say another wont or something else entirely? He looked back down to Anzu with a sly grin, '_Well then, I should move her to the bed where its safely away from the door and off the ground with me._' He thought, scooting around to her side and slipping his arms under her knees and back to scoop her up. She weighed very little, but his hand under her knees was pressed against the toned muscles of her thighs and calves- she worked out doing something he was sure of it! And when a woman works out it usually means they have very good stamina….

Stamina plus woman plus bed equaled…

'_STOP THAT!_' he berated himself as he carried Anzu across the tent and gently settled her in the middle of his bed, covering her with his blankets before shimmying himself in beside her, tugging the woman close and sighing at the familiar feel of soft curves relenting to hard muscle. He'd never admit it, but he loved just snuggling with soft, plaint women. Of course, the sex was the best part, but it just felt so nice to feel a soft warm body against his hard sinewy one after a long day. It was very relaxing, like holding a heated body-length pillow close just as you fall asleep. He sighed, spooning against her back and inhaled deeply with his nose buried in her hair, revealing in the pleasurable vibes that incased his senses from the feel, the smell and the heat of this woman's body. He noted with no small satisfaction that she snuggled back into him as well and sighed in her sleep content as his arms wound tighter around her to secure her to himself as he joined her in the land of dreams….


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Yeah, I know it's been awhile, but I'm in the process of moving into college for the first time (sweat drop) yup, excuses, excuses- but I'm trying to keep up with this story since it's started to take a life of its own…. Sort of.

Acknowledgments from Chapter 5 : Jessy, Shiroi no Yume, Kiri-chan220, luke (What did u mean by "Review please"? did you mean UPDATE?), Azera-v, Lynn, Cybernetic Manga (love the name btw!) mirokulover (thankyou for being a loyal reviewer!)

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter Six Given the Slip

Ahh… this was the life. Anzu could tell she was close to waking up from her luxurious slumber, but decided to just lay still and let her body slowly wake up with the rising sun. She deserved to sleep in some days and school could wait. Any moment, her alarm clock would go off- granted that she set it the night before.

Pleasant heat warmed her back in the morning chill as her unusually warm blanket cocooned her in its warm embrace. It almost felt like arms wound around her to hold her to a solid body along her back…

But that was ridiculous! She didn't even have a boy friend and she lived alone. No one was spooning against her back…

Anzu moaned as she dug her rear into the heat behind her- was that a grunt?

She started to drift back to a deeper slumber when the 'blanket' around her constricted around her waist and buried her into a searing, hard heat at her back. Something tickled her ear, a small breeze? But the wind never blew on just one spot and it didn't pant hot air…

She felt hot-branding lips latch on to her neck where it met shoulder and a wet tongue laved at her skin between the suckling mouth as a low groan behind her did her in- she was DEFINITELY not alone!

Anzu's blue eyes snapped open as her breath yelped into her lungs sharply in surprise. Those arms had hands attached to them and they were no longer idle the rough calloused hands traveled over her sides, getting dangerously close to parts of herself she shared with no one!

"Awake, I see," that voice was familiar…, "Ahh, Things just got even _more_ interesting…" his warm hand gently brushed against her side in a feathered touch that had her struggling to hold in the jolt of nerves it caused.

"Bakura!" she snapped in alarm as it all came back to her. This was ancient Egypt, Dorothy, not Japan. You're not with Toto in Japan anymore!

"Anzu," he purred in reply as he shifted his weight behind her to press against her tightly with his pelvis. Anzu fought the losing battle with the fiery blush that crept up her neck and to her cheeks when she realized that _someone_ was in a good mood- a bit too good of a mood.

"Bakura…," Anzu gulped, trying to find the words that would back him off, but with the way he was touching her, avoiding any _extreme_ intimate areas- it was driving her to distraction.

"Anzu," He groaned out her name again, obviously enjoying how he got to wake up this morning as he buried his face in her thick brunette hair and inhaled deeply only to let it out in a groan of pleasure. Slyfer's enhanced senses ran wild within his body, making touching Anzu that much more addicting! He didn't even bother to fight the urge that had his red eyes rolling to the back of his head as he pressed his groin against her rear, loving how soft she was.

Something snapped within Anzu and her wits returned to her as he shifted from behind her to hovering in a dominant position above her, "GET THE HELL OFF ME!" Anzu screeched, startling him from his pleasurable high as she braced her heels on the bed and pushed her body to buck sharply under him and knocked him off balance, then she kicked him away, landing a blow very close to the family jewels so to speak as Bakura was tossed off her.

"Ah…Fucking Ra…." He cursed as he clutched himself. Though she missed, it still hurt like hell!

Anzu scrambled off the bed, yelping when she realized that her clothes barely concealed her form, they were so out of place. She quickly righted them and then put some distance between her and Bakura who still curled on the bed, his head in the pillows as he breathed deeply through his flared nostrils to clam himself and help ease the sharp pain near his groin.

"Serves you right, perv!" her voice didn't nearly sound as strong as she had wanted it to.

"If I recall… you were … enjoying yourself… as well." Bakura managed to growl out as the pain started to ease away and he sat up slowly on his heels.

"You molested me in my SLEEP!" Anzu snapped and then noticed her abandoned pallet by the door, "Why was I in your bed in the first place?!" she demanded.

"A cobra paid you a visit last night, love," Bakura replied, taking satisfaction in her instantly horrified expression, "Don't worry, I killed it before it did you any harm and then put you in my bed because its off the ground and I could protect you easier the closer you were to me." He excused. It wasn't all a lie after all, but it was also only part of the reason he had taken her to his bed.

"C-Cobra?" Anzu stuttered.

"Very big one, too." Bakura nodded.

Anzu was silent and didn't look him in the eye, making Bakura frown. What, no thanks? Feh, he actually shows a bit of chivalry and look where it gets him- no where.

'_You call wanting to share your bed with her __**chivalry**__?'_ that annoying voice- why doesn't it just shut up? He'd never had a conscious before and he didn't want one now!

Bakura stretched out his legs from under him and rolled to his feet, gathering his clothing for the day. Anzu yelped and swiftly turned the blind eye when he shucked out of his light, baggy sleeping trousers and pulled on his cloths for the day. Of course, he opted not to wear any under garments- that was for women, not a ready man like himself. Who knew what opportunities would arise?

"Do you want some fresh cloths or are those good enough for you?" Bakura asked her.

Anzu didn't turn to him, stubbornly keeping her back to him, "These'll be fine." She replied stiffly.

Bakura snorted, "Remember where you are, girl, and what you're wearing…" he taunted, "A camp full of men, and while there are plenty of women, you're a rare sight in the pharaoh's concubine attire."

Anzu stiffened, "What did you have in mind?" she replied cautiously.

Bakura just smirked, "Oh just a little something…." He purred too saucily for Anzu's comfort as he sauntered towards one of his chests…

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"JERK!" Anzu huffed as she stomped through the camp, kicking the sand under her feet, "ASSHOLE!"

"What's wrong with'im?" one of the middle aged men moved out of the way as Anzu stormed pass, "Isn't that the new boy? Bakura's new slave?"

"It's 'im alright." An older man nodded as they watched Anzu make her way towards the tied up animals just outside of camp, "I hear he's a bit of a spirited spit fire. His fire amuses the King, so Bakura keeps him around."

"Scrawny little thing, isn't he?" the other man chuckled, "Not very healthy either- seems a bit on the pale side and not very tall- the women are taller than 'im!"

"Forget the women- that pharaohs whelp they call a Prince in Cairo is taller than this lil' one." The other man chuckled along with his companion as the 'boy-slave' passed.

Anzu gnashed her teeth as she let loose a growl of frustration. Well, Bakura's plan _**B**_ had worked- everyone thought her as a boy- Bakura's servant boy, but a boy none the less. She was dressed in a pair of Bakura's baggy trousers that were brown and patched up. He said he used to wear them as a boy, but she still had to roll up the bottoms to keep from tripping over herself. A pair of worn sandals were strapped to her feet and she wore a lamb-skin, sleeveless tunic underneath a camel-hair parka and hood. Her hair was collected up in a turban of more camel haired-cloth that made her head itch. Only a few strands escaped the wrap atop her head.

"'_You shall water the animals'_ he says!" Anzu mocked his bossy voice, "_'Do as I say as a slave boy, or do as I say as a bed-slave'_ HAH! Not in a million years!" she scoffed at the thought. Bakura's first plan had been to dress her in the sultry attire a love slave would wear and have Bakura excuse her from everyone's sights because he'd claim he didn't want to share his new 'toy'.

"EGOTISTICAL BASTARD!" she roared as she approached the tied up animals. All forty horses belonging to the forty-one thieves were tied up while Bakura's camel, Ahmed stood solemnly nearby. Jazzel was also tethered to a stake further away from the other horses. Her front legs were hoggled (basically the equine equivalent to hand-cuffs) to minimize her movements, but she didn't seem inclined to try and escape. The mare stood there just as quietly as the camel with her ears twitching in a laid-back, annoyed stance. She apparently hadn't come to terms with Ahmed yet- she openly showed her agitation with him.

Three other camels were tethered a bit further away from Jazzel that Anzu didn't remember seeing. Only Bakura had a camel here, did they have scouts that also used camels and they just happened to arrive later than Anzu and Bakura last night?

"_Anzu!_" Jazzel greeted with a warm whinny that the other horses echoed curiously.

"_Tamer??_" the other horses whinnied, prancing about excited to have her near them. Equine heads seemed to pop up simultaneously as they all eagerly tried to get a glimpse of the _Tamer_.

"_Master's Lady Friend!_" Ahmed groaned greeting as well. He seemed proud to announce that his master had ties to the Tamer as he held his long neck out stretched and tall.

"I am _not_ his _lady friend_." Anzu growled as she leaned against Jazzel's side.

"_Master loves lady friends._" Ahmed replied, seeming to wag his bare tail that had a truff of dark long hair at the end like a lions… or an ass. He was a very…. Oblivious creature if nothing else…

"_Anzu not like your master, shut up, you tall cow._" Jazzel grunted in a low threat with her ears pinned back and her thick black tail lashing in warning as she shifted her weight in her back hooves.

Ahmed groaned an insult back to the mare, but moved away wisely when the haughty mare lashed her black tail once again and cocked her hind hoof threateningly with a low nicker akin to a growl.

"_How is Anzu?_" Jazzel's demeanor did a 360 turn as she addressed her new friend and ignored the camel in favor for butting her head lovingly against Anzu's chest as Anzu shifted from her side to lean against the mare's shoulder and lovingly cupped the mare's cheek while she stroked the thick black forelock out of Jazzels blue eyes.

"You don't wanna know." Anzu huffed monotone as she rolled her eyes and suppressed an agitated sigh.

"_What troubles you?_" Jazzel lifted her head and perked her ears as her nostrils snorted with air, "_You smell nervous and angered._" One black tipped ear flopped forward in an irresistible way that made the mare too cute!

Anzu blushed as she was reminded why she was embarrassed and angry. She cleared her throat and leaned away from the mare's shoulder, sharply turning her face away from the camel and curious mare, "It's nothing, Jazzel, I'm fine. I'm here to take you and Ahmed to the watering hole."

"_I could use a good drink_," Jazzel nodded her head.

"_Water nice_," Ahmed bawled out wagging his poor excuse of an ass's tail like a happy dog rather than a camel.

Jazzels ears twitched back in annoyance, "_I can't wait until they tire of you and ground you for your beef._" The mare snorted sharply, "_How is it that one so dumb is the King of Thieves choice of rides…_" she muttered under her low sigh.

Anzu took Jazzels lead rope and Ahmeds as well to lead them out to the man-dug watering hole. Once there, she set them loose to let them drink at their own leisure. Jazzel took modest drinks of water, raising her head ever so often to perk her ears at any noise she might have caught. Ahmed, however gorged himself with water as he all out bounded into its cool depths, filling both himself, and his reservoir in his hump up with water. Once done, Anzu took them both back to their holding area, chatting with Jazzel all the way.

"_It's a shame you have but two legs to run on_" Jazzel sighed, "_I feel I can fly with my legs._"

"I used to wish I were an animal instead of a human, when I was little at least." Anzu admitted with a grin, "Momma would get so aggravated when I would run around at a crawl making animal noises when company came around. She would introduce me as her daughter and I would bark at the guests to greet them and then hang out my little tongue,"

"_You acted like a dog?_" Jazzel snorted at the thought.

"Mostly, yeah. It was the easiest to mock, besides a cat. Momma got even worse if I started meowing." Anzu laughed.

"You can hear them, cant you." it wasn't a question. Anzu turned around to see a dark, young woman with deep blue eyes, dark hair and skin. She wore beige and white robes and wore a golden necklace with a hieroglyphic eye in the middle. The necklace hugged her slender, long neck in an elegant way that had even Anzu catching herself staring at the woman. Now that she was interested or anything, but she was beautiful! It was hard not to look at her! She looked like some Egyptian Princess in disguise!

"Hear who?" Anzu played dumb as a light blush marred her cheeks and she turned her face away from the Princess-Woman.

"The animals- I saw you talking to them as if they were human. Can you really understand them?" the tall young woman approached Anzu, Ahmed and Jazzel from the other three camels. Her dark sapphire eyes lit with something akin to joyful hope.

"I guess I can, it's weird though- I just started to hear them yesterday morning." Anzu admitted, surprised to find herself feeling obliged to answer this stranger.

"Really? Yesterday, you say?" the woman seemed intrigued. She bowed her head to Anzu, "I am called Ishizu Ishtar." Ishizu introduced herself.

"Anzu Mazaki." Anzu replied, trying to copy the graceful tilt of the woman's head in greeting.

Ishizu's brow's lowered, "Ma-zah-kee?" she tested out, "I have never heard of such a name."

"Well, I'm not exactly from around here." Anzu shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously.

"A different time, perhaps?" the woman offered knowingly.

Anzu rolled her eyes lightly and replied with out thinking, "You have no idea," she suddenly realized something, "Wait, I never said anything, and how did you know?"

Ishizu smiled, "I have known about you, Anzu Ma-zah-kee the Tamer for a long time now." She put a hand over her necklace, "My necklace allows me to see into the future."

"Really?" Anzu looked at the golden necklace with new found fascination.

"Umm-Hmm" Ishizu nodded, "Just as you have the gift of a thousand tongues, I can predict the future."

"Yours sounds much better than a thousand tongues." Anzu snorted.

"You will come to appreciate your own gift from the gods soon enough." Ishizu replied wisely while her dark blue orbs looked Anzu over from head to toe.

"I don't even know what the purpose of what I am really is!" Anzu sighed, "I mean I just got sucked back in time through an old book and then zap- I'm here!" Anzu threw her hands in the air to emphasize her point, "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do to get back or if I can go back at all."

"You should go to the Temple of the Beast gods." Ishizu offered, "On their walls, the Temples have the written prophecy of the Beast Tamer for this world. I'm sure it will tell you how to return just the same."

"You really think so?" Anzu looked up at the young woman that was so kind to her.

"Learning ones destiny isn't a pleasant thing all the time. I would know" Ishizu nodded, "I know the Temples of the Beasts will reveal all to you in time."

"Then I'll go there now." Anzu nodded.

"What?? Now??" Ishizu stepped back in surprise.

"Yeah, you said I should go, right? And the Temple is far away from the Forty-One thieves ruled by a Son-of-a-Bitch. I'll just escape now rather than what I had planned to do from the start- Escape when no one will notice in night fall."

"If you wish to leave now, best be going." Ishizu said lowly, "Soon as Bakura gets wind that you've run, he will follow you."

"Let him." Anzu huffed, "Once I know what my full power is, who knows, I might just zap him into a horny toad or something more suitable to him"

"I don't think that's how your power works." Ishizu smiled. The future girl was very amusing to say the least.

Anzu shrugged, "Do you know?"

"No, not exactly." Ishizu admitted.

"We'll soon find out than, won't we?" she grinned.

Ishizu watched while the Beast Tamer turned as if she were about to set off, but then hesitated, "You're not going to … _walk_ all the way to the Temple, are you?" Ishizu raised a brow.

"Umm," Anzu felt very flustered, "Well, how far can it be?"

"Not far," Ishizu admitted. Anzu sighed in relief, but then Ishizu finished, "On _horse back_."

"Horseback?" Anzu groaned, "Well that's just great! I can't ride _horseback_!"

Ishizu blinked rapidly in surprise, "P-Pardon?? You can't??"

"No."

"Do they not have horses in your time??"

"Not for transportation…" at Ishizu's confused stare, Anzu sighed forlornly, "You know what, never mind."

"But I don't understand." Ishizu tilt her head, "If you did not ride here… how is it that you came all the way out here in the desert?"

"Bakura more or less held me over his lap on the dumb-_ass_," she nodded to Bakura's white camel that bawled in complaint at being called a donkey.

Ishizu frowned, "Can you not ask one of the animals to let you ride them?"

"_I'll do it, Anzu!_" Jazzel whinnied excitedly, "_I won't let you fall! Promise!_" the mare bobbed her head excitedly.

Anzu took that into consideration as she looked over her shoulder to the caravan of tents, "Won't they see me riding off with Jazzel though?"

"I'll cover for you." Ishizu offered as she put a comforting had on the uncertain girl's shoulder, "Go."

Anzu looked up at Ishizu for a moment, then nodded determinedly, "I'll go." She turned to Jazzel and then had another set back, "Uhh… about those… handcuff things… how do I get them off Jazzel?"

Ishizu knelt down in the sand and unlatched the hoggals on the mare's front legs that kept her immobile, "Now go." Ishizu urged.

With Ishizu's help, Anzu struggled to mount Jazzel's back and then held fast to the mare's silky ebony mane, "Alright, Jazzel, take me to the Temple!"

Jazzel tossed her head and took off at a slow, gentle trot so she didn't jostle the green-rider too much while they started their trek into the desert-again.

As Ishizu stood tall to watch as the girl and horse ride off into the sands, her adopted brother approached her side silently as he always did. Rashid made a disapproving grunt when she eyed him from the corner of her eye.

"You realize the pain you have just condoned our brother to by sending the tamer off…?" he cautioned.

"We know where the Tamer is headed, Rashid." Ishizu replied as her left hand reached up to touch her necklace, "My necklace foresaw me guiding the Tamer towards the temple. Atem and Bakura will be alerted of her absence soon enough, but it is our brother, Malik who will get to her first at the temple."

"Atem? The pharaoh's son is coming here?"

"The Winged Dragon of Ra with in Atem has sensed that Slyfer with in Bakura has gotten too close with the Tamer. They are jealous beasts after all and do not take kindly if one were to steal the calming presence of the Tamer away from the other. Once they are all forced to face one another at the same time with Anzu present, they will not fight- because of her calming presence working on them all at the same time. However, in this situation of the things being as they are, I find it rather … amusing."

"Amusing sister?" Rashid quirked a brow.

"That these men feel jealousy towards a girl they don't understand against two other men they hardly know. I some how find it amusing." Ishizu admitted.

"Brother, sister!" Malik called from behind them as he ran up the sand dune from the caravan of tents down below, "I feel it! I feel the pull again!" he called out as he caught up to them.

Rashid and Ishizu shared a look before Ishizu turned toward her youngest brother, "Is it painful?" she asked, feeling just slightly guilty for having sent Anzu away and perhaps causing her brother more pain than good at the moment.

"No, not yet at least." Malik admitted, furrowing his brow curious to his sisters sudden relief but didn't think much of it.

"Then we should follow it before the Tamer is out of range and causes you pain." Rashid replied as he headed for the camels and untied them. Ishizu avoided his eye contact as he passed her.

"Wait- leave mine be." Ishizu stopped him before he could untie the third camel. At both her brothers curious looks, Ishizu explained, "I will stay here while the two of you go on a head."

"What? But sister!" Malik protested while Rashid grimaced slightly, but held his tongue, knowing that his sister knew what she was doing…. Most likely at least.

"I have a destiny that needs to be fulfilled here before I leave." Ishizu retorted, "I will rendezvous with you later. Now go after the Tamer!" she ushered him away.

"But-,"

Rashid took his brother by the shoulder and eased him towards his awaiting camel, "Come Brother. The Tamer rides by horse- she'll have more ground covered faster the longer we wait." Ishizu's grateful expression didn't escape Rashid as he urged his younger brother to mount while he did the same, "Till we meet again dear sister." He nodded to Ishizu who bowed her head back. A silent understanding formed between them as the man mounted his own beast after seeing that his younger brother did the same.

Rashid and Malik kicked their camel's sides and they were off in a small cloud of sand dust, following the general trail that Anzu and Jazzel had just left in. Ishizu watched on until her brothers dust trail was well out of sight before she turned to the towards the caravan of tents, squinting her eyes to the horizon beyond it. Sure enough, another dust cloud could just barely be seen in the horizon. She had no doubts that it was the new young Pharaohs and his party's approach. She braced herself to prepare for coming between two enemies- the Pharaoh and the Thief King she had to watch over their interaction so that they didn't provoke their beasts into a rage that would tear themselves and everyone around them apart…

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"This is the most idiotic crime you have ever dragged me into, _Atem_…" Seto groused from the back of his horse walking at Judas's left flank, "It's degrading to have to cover my face like a common _woman!_" he seethed.

"You look pretty though." Katsuya poked at the aggravated priest from atop his own steed at Judas's other flank on the right, both following their lords shadow closely in the crowded caravan.

"When we get back to Cairo, you're going to know what it feels like to become a _gelding_." Seto growled.

"Come now, Seto." Atem chuckled, "Think of Mai when you threaten Katsuya's manhood would you? Do you wish to invoke her wrath?"

Seto paused and then jerked his head away so he didn't have to look at either of the smug eyes that peeked out under the women's clothing they all sported as a cover for entering the caravan of the enemy, "It'd be a load of work just to get the sentencing through the court system anyways. More work than pleasure on my plate." He huffed.

Atem rolled his eyes while Katsuya fumed. The young pharaoh's violet-mahogany eyes constantly shifting around them, searching for a pair of blue eyes and ivory skin…

But to no avail.

"You sure this is the camp of Bakura?" Katsuya asked quietly, eyeing the way the locals merely glanced at them and then went about their business. Apparently, they were well open to travelers. Weren't thieves reckless and possessive? A thief's lair would have been more…. Secure- wouldn't it?

"He's here." Atem had to hold the gravely hatred from his voice, lest he be found out a man in women's clothing…. That wouldn't go well in Cairo….

What would the people of Egypt think if they heard their Pharaoh went gallivanting off in the desert searching for a woman while he himself dressed in women's robes?

There goes the Dynasty…

"No doubt that he's here." Seto seemed to curse.

"And you both know this how?" Katsuya wanted out of this place and out of these embarrassing clothes as soon as possible.

"Just try looking where you're going for once." Seto glared at the blond.

Sure enough, further down the roadway all three spotted bleach-white hair that nearly reflected the sun. Bakura seemed to be talking with another light haired boy vigorously about something. Whatever it was, the thief seemed none-too-pleased about. He was gesturing with his hands widely every other word and his brows were knotted together in agitation … even borderline _anger_ it seemed. In fact, he looked about ready to strike someone!

"I bless whatever has gotten him so angered." Atem mumbled under his breath, feeling a bit too much joyful amusement at seeing his nemesis in such frustration as he seemed to be. He drew Judas to a stop, out of the way from the main flow of the path way and turned to his comrades.

"Now what? We've found Bakura," Seto whispered lowly.

"But where's the wench?" Katsuya flinched instantly under Atems scorching glare, "I mean- where's … Anzu?" he corrected himself.

Atem really had the urge to just unveil himself, cause havoc in this enemy's territory and swipe Anzu out from under the albino-haired bastard while he was caught up in the confusion; beat the thief in his own game! That would teach the little rat to take something that belonged to the pharaoh!

…but he wasn't completely sure if that was _him_ thinking or if it was the jealous beast inside him…

He was betting on the beast.

No. now was no time to listen to a jealous beast. Atem shook his head to try and clear the instant wave of indignation no doubt coming from the Beast God inside him that still wanted to cause a reckless havoc and get the girl back within its sights. He gritted his teeth- the little devil was apparently… persistent.

"Atem?" Katsuya and Seto saw their pharaoh's eyes start bleeding golden irises again. The beast must be close to the surface…

Atem shook his head again and forced Ra back in his mind with all the force of will he needed to overpower its consistent attempts at taking over his body to retrieve the woman they lost on its own. Once it had grudgingly inclined to his demands, Atem looked to Katsuya with a reassuring glint in his eyes since they couldn't see much of his face under the woman's vale, "Just Ra over reacting to the stench." He excused, knowing neither the general nor the high priest bought it.

"Well, well…Ladies." Bakura drawled suddenly holding Judas's reins while the stallion tossed his head, "One has to wander what three… low-voiced maidens, such as yourselves ride the Pharaohs stallions out here in the desert… and with no male escort at that." The cunning King of Thieves smirked knowingly at Atem while his men took hold of Setos and Katsuya's stallions as well. Spears were pointed threateningly at all three of their necks while Katsuya's hand rested with tensed muscles at the hilt of his sword.

"Where is she, Bakura?" Atem demanded, not bothering to use a higher tone of voice. They were already found out anyways.

"What's this now?" Bakura chuckled as he stepped away from Judas, a nearby man took up the reins immediately in his place while the infamous King looked over his captives. He seemed to try and hold back his laughter, but failed as his chuckles turned into full out chortles of dark laughter of mockery that made Atem and his men seethe. Each wanted to sever the man's head off at the moment!

"Don-Don't tell m-me," Bakura panted with his laughter, "That under all that WOMENS clothing is-is," he had to pause as another fit of giggles over took his voice as he struggled to breathe, "th-the PHARAOHS ba-ba-BASTARD! HAH-hahahahaha!" at hearing this, all the men around them joined in the joke with wide eyes on Atem sitting astride Judas's back in… women's robes.

Katsuya looked ready to kill each and every one of the laughing-out-of-control men around them. They didn't even take the men of the royal palace seriously now! The spears shook as their holders practically writhed in laughter! Seto glared red-faced at Atem who was also a healthy cherry color as he leered angrily at the laughing thief king.

"WHERE IS SHE!" Atem roared. A dark aura blast from his person as golden eyes completely over took violet-mahogany. His clothing seemed to levitate around him in a mysterious way as the enraged spirit beast revealed itself through him. The chuckling men surrounding him started to choke as if the aura emitting from Atem was a gas of some sort and suddenly, none of them could open their mouths- they were _suffocating_!

Bakura's laughter died instantly as he looked around him frantically, seeing a few of his men already falling to their knees. Their mouths sewn shut by an invisible thread and their nostrils refusing to collect the necessary air for them to breathe. His red eyes darkened as he whirled on the golden-eyed pharaoh, his wide eyes slanting to a murderous tilt as the beast inside him recognized him for what Atem really held.

"You're one as well!" he snarled as his own red eyes started to turn a darker gold than the pharaohs as Slyfer easily fought off the Winged Dragons' aura influence with his own, releasing the thief's men from the enraged spirits hold and letting them pant heavily for their breath back, "I was wandering when one of you would show up." Bakura only half noticed that the words weren't completely his.

"You impudent wingless beast!" Atems voice was much harsher and course than before under the near-complete influence of Ra's spirit, "_WHERE_ is the TAMER!"

"Like I would hand such a treasure over to an aristocratic bastard like you! You don't deserve her peace," Slyfer snickered.

"YOU WILL TELL ME! RETURN MY TAMER!" Ra demanded as his aura intensified and focused on Bakura's body. The pressure started to breech past Slyfers barrier.

"B-Bastard…," Slyfer cursed. It was getting harder to hold control over his host. Out of fury, the Sky Dragon forced his own power upon Atem with just as much force as he could, stumping Ra as well- the two were basically trying to choke one another with out much success since they were very evenly matched. The men around them were frozen in fear and wonderment; they could feel the power radiating off the two before them as their hair stood on end. Everything within them that made them human wanted to escape the wrath of the powers emitting against one another, even the stallions were frightened. Katusya's and Seto's mounts whinnied shrilly and held their tails and heads high as they reared up on their hind hooves, wanting to flee. Judas pranced nervously under Atem, but the loyal stallion tried his best not to move under his master.

And then, it was gone- Ra and Slyfer were forced into the chambers of their respected soul hosts, startling Bakura and Atem at the sudden slack from the tight hold the spirits had had on them.

"Stop this at ONCE!" a commanding female voice snarled with authority, catching all who were present off guard as a woman in white-cream robes and a golden choker hugging her elegant throat parted the crowd of men with her mere presents. Her blue eyes locked on Bakura and Atem who stared at her wide-eyed, still unrecovered from the initial shock the spirits had left them in, "Do you realize what you could have just done to every man, woman, and child in Egypt if you went on like that?" she snapped as if she were a mother scolding two fighting brothers- though this was faaaar from that.

"Lady Ishizu?" Atem blinked down at the woman whom he'd only met a handful of times.

Bakura recovered first as his wide look turned to one of suspicion, "And what would a _woman _have to say about it?" he challenged.

The dark-skinned woman's blue eyes narrowed on Bakura dangerously in a way only a woman could do. The mysterious eye pendent on her choker started to glow slightly, "Would you rather I allow Slyfer a chance at your soul, thief?" she threatened. Soon as she said those words, Bakura felt the beast inside him start to rise. He gritted his teeth as it became more difficult to keep taps on the impudent creature. It only lasted a moment before the beast seemed to fall asleep again.

"You're able to control the beasts?" Bakura gritted his teeth- that would have been a handy thing to know earlier…. He would have stolen the necklace while he was out stealing the pharaoh's harem girl!

"I am only able to do so for so long…" Ishizu admitted, "The Beast Gods will grow immune to my necklace quickly. Only the Tamer can truly appease them and keep their power under taps."

"You mean Anzu, don't you," Atem wasn't really asking, but he got a glare from Bakura's eyes. One that he returned with just as much hatred.

"Of course." Ishizu nodded, "Which is why this is meaningless. The longer the two of you stay here fighting, the more the beasts anger with one another become potent with out the influence of the Tamer. If that keeps up, they will consume your own spirits and release their ultimate wrath."

"The Tamer is fine." Bakura rolled his eyes and crossed his arms to fold over his chest arrogantly, "She is under my care and is probably wandering around the caravan, oblivious to what's going on. If the beasts inside the son of a bitch and I don't like one another, I suggest the little pharaoh leave to appease his own demon inside him."

"Not without Anzu," Atem growled.

"More than _without _Anzu." Bakura retorted with his own snarl.

"You _both _will be leaving." Ishizu was starting to get very… _very _aggravated with these two. She silently prayed for Anzu to have patience with the two possessive men that would be forced to stay near her for the next five years until the ceremony could take place. And it wasn't only them; her younger brother, Malik would be one as well…

"This is MY camp. Why should I leave it?" Bakura turned on her.

"Would you rather leave Anzu to her own devices out in the desert- ALONE?" Ishizu bit back.

That got him.

"She's… she's not here?" was his more than stupid reply.

"Catches on quick, doesn't he?" Katsuya hissed to Seto who rolled his eyes.

"I have sent her to where her destiny calls- the temple of the three Beast Gods." Ishizu replied confidently as she stepped closer to the men.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute here…" NOW Bakura was _pissed_, "you _released_ my prisoner?!"

"I gather she is not your prisoner any longer considering what she is to you now." Ishizu grinned evilly at him.

"DAMN YOU WOMAN!" Bakura stomped his foot at her, but Atem's blade tip was at his throat.

"I never did like your kind." Atem said lowly, "Therefore, I have no sympathy for your similar predicament as I have. I'll say this once- go anywhere near Anzu or even attempt to and I'll have not only your head and your manhood chopped, but every one of your forty-ONE thieves as well. Are we clear, vermin?"

"If you think death-threats scare me, little boy, daddy hasn't taught you much about your enemy." Bakura smirked, swatting the blade away from him and walked away; his men parted the crowd for him, "Let the children leave. If they attempt to harm anyone, hold nothing back."

The men backed away at their masters' command. Atem urged Judas after Bakura, intending on cutting him through with his blade, but Ishizu held the warhorse's reins.

"We must leave immediately." She said.

"I'll not let him get away with this!" Atem snarled, still urging the stallion on, but Judas didn't budge.

"He is baiting you so you'll be distracted from Anzu while he goes after her, pharaoh." Ishizu warned, "And you're falling for it."

Atem paused a moment.

"You're not as cool-headed as you once were because of the beast, Lord Atem." Ishizu continued, "You must remember that and think more carefully about your actions."

"Very well." Atem jerked Judas toward the opposite way Bakura had gone and toward the desert, "We'll get to her before the thieving wretch." He growled, kicking Judas's sides and the great black war stallion reared and then bolted into the sand head-long. Katsuya, eager to get out, trailed him with just as much vigor, but the high priest turned to Ishizu a moment. His stallion prancing about, eager to join the others.

"Why did you stop them and then send them BOTH after the Tamer?" he didn't even try to hide his suspicious growl.

"I foresaw what the gods wanted me to do and that was what they asked of me." She replied humbly, "Go now priest. I will follow." She urged him.

Not convinced, Seto snorted, loosening the reins on the eager horse that bolted soon as it was given the okay- no urging needed. Ishizu turned to retrieve her camel, intent on following when a flash stopped her in her tracks. Her necklace glowed as her blue eyes were shown another glimpse of the future. The soundless scene shown to her made her breath catch in her throat.

"MALIK!" she gasped.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven Wrath of the Guardian

"I've only seen stuff like this in picture books and the internet!" Anzu awed as Jazzel walked them under a rand arch of the temple entrance. The stone was solid gold and had hieroglyphics etched into every inch of it. All telling stories of the Beast Gods and how they were locked up in the first place.

"_Master Atem once rode with me out here on a joy ride after a gazelle hunt. I've never been this close though…"_ Jazzel tossed her head as she too looked around with wide-eyed appreciation.

As Jazel walked into the temple, the golden walls reflected Anzus and Jazzels reflections with a healthy shine, but he granite floors were dusty and under kept scrolls lay battered and scattered about, some even torn as if by claws. The temple seemed abandoned as well and from the looks of things- it was a struggle.

"What happened here…?" Anzu thought aloud.

Jazzel suddenly tensed and tossed her head nervously. The mare slowly backed up with a whimper of uncertainty.

"Jazzel?" Anzu yelped in alarm when the mare's muscles tensed underneath her.

"_I don't like this. Not one bit! I think we should leave now._" Jazzel started to turn around, intent on getting out of the strange place.

"But Jazzel, we can't leave now!" Anzu tugged back on the mare's mane, "Look how far we've come!"

"_I don't like it here!_" Jazzel insisted, taking another step back as she tossed her head and gave a low grunt of nervousness, "_Let's leave now please!_" the mare turned her body slightly to face the way they came, but Anzu held her back with a tug of her mane.

"What don't you like about it-," a low growl echoing the halls of the suddenly dark temple startled Anzu and Jazzel to silence, "Wha-What was that?"

"_Now I reeeeaaaally don't like it here!_" the mare's head was held high as she turned about quickly, intent on bolting out the way they came, but a dark shadow blocked the entry way to the temple. Jazzel squealed and bolted the other direction, deeper into the temple, before Anzu got a good look at what had blocked them, but she didn't question Jazzels sudden desire to distance them from the threat. Her skin instantly prickled with fear as goose bumps inflamed over her skin and her heart pounded as she clung to Jazzels back desperately as the mare wove around the pillars of the temple. Her hooves pounded in a four-beat rhythm under them as the mare scrambled to escape the snarls behind them. Clawed feet ticked against the marble floor behind them as their pursuer gave chase, if anything, it sounded either much larger than a horse or it was very heavy-footed.

Jazzel took a whip-lashing right turn so suddenly that Anzu fell from her back and rolled on the marble floor. She tumbled until she was stopped by the wall that had caused Jazzel's sudden turn, coughing and gasping for the breath that was knocked out of her. She slowly tucked an elbow under her and lifted her torso up enough to see what was going on, but the darkness of the poorly lit temple was near-blinding.

"Juh-JAZZEL?" she called, her voice echoing down empty corridors of the ancient temple of marble, ivory, gold and stone.

She could only make out shadows along the walls and could hear the echo of Jazzels hooves pounding on down another temple hall. There were no sounds of clawed feet coming anywhere. Soon it was only her harsh breathing, thumping heart, and rushing blood in her ears as eerie silence consumed her in a terrifying embrace. She didn't trust her quivering legs to hold her if she tried to stand so she stayed very still on the floor, trying to calm down enough to stand as she panted out her fear.

"You, Woman." A rumbling voice startled Anzu as its booming frequency bounced off the walls, confusing the actual direction where it must have come from, "Are you not the one they call Tamer?"

Anzu's breath hitched, her voice refused to reply as her body locked up in fear. At her silence, the voice seemed to release a frustrated growl, "ANSWER ME, WOMAN! ARE YOU OR ARE YOU NOT THE TAMER?"

Anzu pressed herself against the wall in a curl, terrified, "I-I-I don't know!" Anzu babbled.

She could hear a ruffling sound- as if feathers were fluffing up and being shaken the way a baffled parrot often did, "I grow tired of your human tendencies to fear." The voice grumbled. Her heart stopped beating for a split second when she heard the click-clack of sharp claws walking across the marble floors towards her and her feeble lit wall where a single burning torch flamed proudly in the night on a torch holder attached to a nearby pillar.

The first foot that stepped into the light had the look of a bird of prey. Three toes in front and one at the heel, each with claws the size of her head that gleamed like daggers in the firelight. A fifth toe was further up the leg with an even more dangerous looking claw than the others. The skin was dark and scaly in a bird-like way. Up to the elbow, the scales gave way to long wolfish fur the color of white snow. As the creature walked fully into the light, Anzu could only hold her breath in awe. Its front legs were that of a large bird-like creature while its hind legs were split-hoofed like a camel or a cow. Its torso was lean and muscled under long white fur, taking the athletic appearance of a carnivorous hunter. Its neck had thicker fur that was like a mane of silvery-white. The head was sleek and very canine, he looked like a white wolf from the neck up. He had a lashing tail that was, again, much like a wolf, but it fanned out more at the end, as if he used it as a rudder. He had two large, feathered white wings perched on his shoulders that folded into his body, they almost looked like Barn Owl wings. His golden eyes had no white to them as most animals did. It was simply a golden iris against a black eye. The gold matched the collar about his neck that was a single gold band with a golden chain connecting to golden cuffs around each of his front legs. He snarled at Anzu with saber-like canines.

Anzu could only gulp as the creature the size of that blasted thief's camel sat on its haunches and tucked its tail about its self, regarding her almost as broadly as a tomcat did before it pawed the death away from a cornered mouse in the barn.

"I'll ask again…," She was only half aware that it was actually speaking in human tongue, and even her own native Japanese, "Are you, or aren't you the one the call Tamer…?" its tail swayed behind it against the floor.

"I have…..I have been called…. That." She managed to squeak out.

Golden eyes leered at her, "Then you're to blame for tricking me into slumber while someone released the Three Beasts." It growled.

"What? I don't have any idea what you're-," she quickly tried to explain that she barely knew what the purpose of the Tamer was, let alone how to trick something like HIM into slumber!

"SILENCE!" it barked, the power behind his voice once again echoing the halls and even making a bit of dust fall from the ceiling as the walls shook with the after shocks of his power, "DO NOT TRY TO DENY YOUR SIN, WOMAN TAMER!" he snarled.

"But I-," Anzu's eyes widened as the great beast's wings opened slightly as his fur stood on end. A rumbling growl of frustration emitted from him as the wings sharply cut through the air. Though it was a small movement from him, the blast from the wind it stirred flattened Anzu against the wall behind her, strangely it took the air from her own lungs as well, and not just from impact. It was as if the blast of wind caused by its wings sucked the air from her very being. She could only choke for needed air to return to her as the beast crowded near her. Tears of strain and fright gathered in her eyes as she willingly flattened herself against the wall this time while the massive head lowered to her level- the massive snout snorting hot breath through large nostrils in her face.

"Repent for your sins, woman." The beast rumbled as her eyes locked with his. She was suddenly caught up in them, as if –no matter what- she could not look away, "Since you are the Tamer, I will be merciful." Golden eyes flashed white and Anzu felt another powerful gust of wind rush into her lungs, over filling them as if he was forcing air down her lungs- drowning her with air- go figure.

Anzu's world was starting to darken around her. Her lungs were being filled, but they weren't allowed to exhale at all and her body refused to even acknowledge the instinct to survive at all costs. For the most part, she thought that if this was the way she was to die, at least her body was completely relaxed and she was only feeling discomfort when she knew she should probably be feeling abnormal chest pains for her lungs being over expanded- apparently this beast could somehow suppress her pain for her. He was keeping his word.

The air was abruptly cut off from slamming into her lungs with a sudden sucking sound of wind as it stopped all movement completely. Anzu's lungs instinctively coughed out the excess air in massive exhales as she started to regain her breathing. Her eyesight was useless- she was fading in and out of vision clarity. Her ears were ringing from all the loud gushing of wind and her other senses were just as muddled. She fell the to the floor weakly, only able to lay there. She could feel the marble floor beneath her tremble rhythmically under her from the movements of the great beast- was he just going to leave her here?

As the ringing in her ears began to fade and her senses slowly started to clear up one by one, she could hear the melody of some kind of flute….

Who was playing the flute?

The melody was hypnotic and it willed the listener to want to relax. It gave you the feeling that you had no other desire other than to just lay back and rest. Anzu's body once again relaxed thankfully under its influence- it previously had been convulsing slightly, tightening and releasing tension with out moving from her prone spot on the floor. A low breathing nearby her was slowing to an even pace and she felt a large body curl around her as a large, scaly claw rest over her lightly- not harming her in the least. Gaining mobility again, Anzu lifted her head to see the avian claws of the beast lightly resting over her body as if putting a light cage over her. The beast its self was curled around her, its head resting on its forearm as it snored lowly in slumber. Her body shook as she got an up-close and personal view of the claws it could have unleashed on her.

"Are you alright?" Anzu looked up sharply in the other direction to see a young man in ratty robes much like what Bakura had forced on her when he stole her away. The hood was back and she could see his tanned face with strange dark designs under his violet eyes. A full head of silvery hair haloed around him in the moonlight. On the wrists that were holding the claws of the beast, Anzu could see golden wristbands bound tightly to his limbs- was he a slave?

"I-I'm fine." She replied breathily. Her blue eyes darting down to avoid the intense look of concern on the handsome young mans face-

Great…. She found three men attractive….

Her blue eyes spotted something that gleamed in the moonlight that was tucked into his sash around his waste, "Was it you who was playing the flute?"

"Flute?" the young man drew back confused, then his eyes followed her line of sight and he understood, "The Slumrus Tool? Yes, I am the holder of the Slumrus. Its an instrument used to tame dark beasts and emotions." He quickly explained as he once again took hold of the claws holding Anzu down lightly trapped under them, "However, it doesn't last for long and cannot be preformed twice in the same night." He started to try and urge the claws apart, but they wouldn't budge, "We gotta get you out of there before Nanuke awakens again," he grunted with effort as he started to pull at one claw, trying to get an opening going for Anzu to slide through, but once again the claws refused to release their prey.

"Nanuke?" Anzu blinked.

"The thing that's on top you. He's the guardian of the Three Beast Gods," the boy gritted his teeth as he gave up pulling and was trying to shove them apart now by leverage of his shoulder, "Damn over-sized half-buzzard!" he hissed and kicked the claw. The tip resting on the marble floor screeched as it slid diagonally slightly. The noise rivaled that of nails being run down a chalkboard! Both Anzu and the young man cringed and quickly turned to look at the beast that snorted in its sleep as if it were disturbed, each holding their breath in anticipation.

The beast simply whimpered puppy-like in its sleep and shifted its chin to its other forearm before settling once again and snoring away like nothing happened. Anzu and the young man let out a collected sigh of relief.

"Come'on, you should be able to wiggle your way out now," the young man knelt by the small opening of claws that was slightly wider than the rest. Anzu carefully maneuvered her body so she could slip out the small opening- ever thankful for her dancer-boy limberness. She was able to get her head positioned by the opening and slid out slowly on her back. Once her torso was cleared, the young man gently grasped her under her arms to help drag her out- much to her embarrassment, since his hands were awfully close to something she normally didn't let men touch.

"Good, you're safe now." The young man seemed very relieved and then raised a brow at her, "Do you make it a habit of running head long into danger? Why didn't you stay in the caravan?"

"Running head-long- wait a minute! Who the hell are you?" she hissed alarmed.

"I, Malik Ishtar, just saved you from said danger you could have avoided if you had just stayed put in the thief's caravan until I could rescue you, Ms. Tamer-who-yet-has-a-name…?" he waited expectantly.

"Anzu Mazaki." She replied much thought, "Look, no matter how stalker-ish you seem right now, you didn't happen to see what happened to the mare that I rode here, did you?"

"Hmmm," his lips twisted curiously with each syllable as he tried out her name, "Annnnzoooo Maaah-Zaah-…MaahZaahKeey? Strange name. You really aren't from around here are you?" he ignored her request.

"Have you seen her or haven't you?" Anzu demanded a bit loudly as she grabbed his collar to show she meant business.

"What do you care if you lose a horse? Its not like there's not that many around to replace it." He replied as if she were a delusional person worried about finding a penny she dropped.

"Jazzel is not just some horse." She scoffed, "Now have you seen her?" she tightened her grip on his collar.

"No, I haven't, but if she is as special to you as you seem to think, she probably just escaped the temple and is waiting somewhere outside at a safe distance for you." he gently pried her hands away from his collar, "Don't tell me you can hear her speak to you like the legends say you can. Is the whole thousand tongue thing really true or is that an allusion to uh…. Something else?" why was he blushing like that?

Suddenly it dawned on Anzu as she watched his violet eyes dart to and away from her lips just as embarrassed now, as he was, "No-no, its true- the talking to animals is true and I assume you're speaking Egyptian to me since I can understand you as well."

Malik once again regarded her as if she had grown a second head, "Of course I'm speaking to you in Egyptian, woman, can't you tell?" he shook his head, "What do you think you're speaking?"

"My native tongue happens to be Japanese, which I thought I was speaking to you people until PRINCY decided to kiss his language into me!" she blushed furiously as Malik stood, waiting for her to do the same. He felt they had loitered for long enough in the slumbering guardians presence.

He took a double-take when he processed exactly what she just said, "Japa-what? And what's this with the kissing and Princy person?" He watched her as she stood and bypassed him to walk out the temple, his violet eyes watching her expectantly for her to answer as he followed her on their way out of the temple's maze of tunnels.

"Forget about the language- it's a few hundred years in the coming, but yeah. Prince _Atem_ was the first Egyptian that I understood because he helped my _gift_ of tongues recognize the Egyptian language." She explained in an almost flippant way that didn't help ease the sudden heat in Maliks chest.

"So he kissed you? I thought the _gift_ was supposed to let you speak any tongue!" he scoffed as he stalked behind her in a bad mood suddenly.

"Yeah, apparently only animal languages are an automatic knowledge to the gift. Human languages I have to kiss a speaker of that language or they have to kiss me." She shrugged, not seeing the falter in his step.

"Is that so?" he lowered his head to glare at he floor as his eyes flashed red, "Did you enjoy it?"

Anzu stopped slowly and turned to him with a taken-aback look, "I don't see how that's any of your business." She said, trying to hide the shrill of surprise in her tone and the hot blush across her cheeks.

But she couldn't keep that from his sharp eyes, nor the sudden spike of her scent from his heightened senses, "You did, didn't you," his voice lowered as barely contained hatred towards prince Atem sized him.

"Look, pal-yeek!" she cut off with a yelp as he suddenly appeared before her, holding her wrists in his fists. He wasn't hurting her, but she had the feeling that if she struggled, he wouldn't exactly let her go…

"That bastar- wait…" his nose twitched as he took in her scent, "Did you…" he bowed his head to breath in her scent near her neck, she could feel small puffs of air tickle her neck as he satisfied his inquisition with her scent before he drew back with a disgusted look. It almost looked as if he were a child that had just been forced to drink the nasty cherry-flavored medicine to help his cold, "Tell me you didn't sleep with _him_!"

"I DID _NOT_ SLEEP WITH THAT PRINCE-GUY!" Anzu didn't bother to whisper as she full out yelled in his ears, but he endured it.

"Not ATEM!" Malik gritted his teeth as his hands tightened their grip slightly on her wrists, making her wince, "Though he's not much better…" He grumbled under his breath with a dry look now that he thought about the pompous prince, "That _thief! _ BAKURA!" he snapped.

Neither took in to consideration that they were still well with in the temple's halls, or that the beast's heavy breathing was no longer heard….

"I NEVER-," Anzu's tongue suddenly felt heavy as she remembered the way she woke up…. With Bakura….

"I never had SEX with that asshole!" she corrected herself.

"But he _did_ share your bed?" he growled as his eyes darkened a deeper hue of red.

"Look, what do you-," she was about to put the man in his place, but a sudden impact from behind Malik tossed them over and sent them tumbling away across the marble floors. The lashing tail of the now awake beast whiplashed back away as the canine-head curved like a hooded cobra as it bore its fangs.

"GGGGRRROOOOAARRAAAH!" it roared in rage as it charged.

Malik grabbed Anzu and rolled them out of the way just in time to miss being trampled. The beast had trouble slowing down since its claws weren't made for balancing on polished marble with no traction. It slid away and stumbled over itself trying to turn too quickly to get to them again.

"Are you alright?" Malik panted.

"I will be once you get OFF!" Anzu kneed him in the gut. Malik grunted at the sudden pain and winced as he rolled off her. he had rolled them over out of the way and pressed his body close to hers to keep her from injury, but it had put them in a …. Compromising position.

"Did you have to knee me _there_?" Malik coughed as he pushed himself up to his hands and knees glaring at her as best he could though it was through a grimace, "You could have GELDED me!"

"INCOMING!" Anzu screamed.

They both tossed themselves in opposite directions to avoid another charge from the enraged guardian. This time, it was ready and more nimble and quickly turned after Anzu, claws bared.

"ANZU!" Malik gasped as it pawed Anzu like a cat toy, watching her slid across the floor and slamming into Maliks body. He wrapped himself around her as best he could to absorb most of the impact, "Hey, are you hurt?"

"It didn't claw me," Anzu shook her head no.

"It's coming back!" Malik grimaced as the guardian roared and leaped in the air to pounce on them, trapping them between its front claws. Malik had forced Anzu under himself to block her from any attack the beast tried.

"WAIT- MALIK!" Anzu yelped as the beast tilted its head and sniffed at his back. It snarled in rage when it realized this wasn't its target. The man was hiding the woman it had been determined to kill before- once again blocking it from its kill.

It pinned them both with one clawed foot, a claw resting above Maliks back, poised to do some damage.

"Let go of the female and your life is spared, male." The deep voice of the guardian rumbled, "You are not the one I must kill to repent."

"SCREW YOU!" Malik spat over his shoulder as he tried his best to keep his weight off Anzu as the claw behind him bore down on them, "Anzu! Get the hell outta here!"

"BUT-," Anzu gasped as Malik cried out in pain. His body shuddered above her as the large claw poised above him started to dig into his flesh, "MALIK!"

"GO!" he gritted out, "GO NOW!" he shoved her from under him, "RUN! IT CAN'T WANDER OUT OF THE TEMPLE! THE GAURDIAN IS BOUND TO THE INNER WALLS- GRAAAAH!" he hissed in pain as the large claw scratched against him deeply and suddenly as the beast's attention was distracted towards Anzu's sudden escape from under the 'male'.

"WOMAN TAMER!" the guardian hissed as it lunged for her, leaving Malik abandoned on the floor and wounded terribly across his back. Nanuke's wings flew open as much as they could given the tight space of the halls. They once again cut through the air and sent Anzu spiraling forward off her feet. She collided with the ground with a smack she knew she would feel later- if she survived for later. The marble floors kept her sliding until she could see the moonlight from outside- she was almost free!

But what about Malik?

She turned in time to see the guardian barreling towards her with death intent on her! She screamed in surprise and started to backpedal away from it. Nanuke once again had her pinned under its claw in a matter of seconds as it growled in an avian/wolfish way, "You cannot escape fate!" Nanuke declared, "You will not be spared this time!" he lowered his fangs down towards her, ready to do damage when he jerked back in pain.

Nanuke screamed as he pulled back from Anzu, shaking his head. He roared loudly as he slammed bodily into a wall, as if trying to knock something invisible off him that was hurting him. Anzu could only stare- not quite understanding that he hadn't killed her yet.

"ANZU!"

Anzu didn't turn to the voice, but strong arms with cool metallic golden arm bands scooped her up and held her close as Atem fell to his knees and gathered her up to himself, "are you alright?" his eyes were a mixture of his autumn violet and golden amber as his beast was very close to the surface.

"Hands off my woman prince-boy." Bakura growled in warning as he appeared beside them. His eyes completely golden and glowing as he stared at the beast- he was somehow attacking it! Was it the power of Slyfer?

"Soon as I take care of Nanuke, you had better not be touching her!" Bakura snarled, unable to look at them since he had to keep his eyes locked on the beast, Nanuke to keep the spell going.

Atem merely glared up at Bakura before looking over Anzu, "I don't think anything's broken, but you are bruised!" he fussed over her, "We need to get you back to the palace as soon as possible! KATSUYA! KAIBA!" he called over his shoulder.

"No- I can't leave him!" Anzu struggled against the young pharaohs hold.

"I think its best to say this is for the best that you leave beasty here." Katusya said out of breath as he and Seto were immediately at their lords side, keeping a guard up with the rampaging guardian falling back slowly into the temple.

"Not him- MALIK! He's wounded badly and still in the temple!" Anzu freed herself from Atem's hold and started running back into the temple, startling all four men. Bakura lost his contact with the beast and so lost the spell he held on it. Nanuke shook its head to clear it and roared as it retreated, too weakened mentally to fight back. It completely bypassed Anzu for now and slipped into one of the other hallways that lead to its den deeper with in the temple.

"ANZU!" Atem called after her as Bakura was already pursuing her. He growled in chagrin that the thief still followed her about, "DON'T GO RUNNING OFF ALONE!"

"The same can be said for you," Seto rolled his eyes as he and Katsuya followed after him.


End file.
